WITCH: Guardian of the Guardians
by Pete the Rock
Summary: Ash and the Pokémon find themselves from their home and now have to hide in Heatherfield... but the guardians will want to protect this boy and his creatures from the oncoming threats.
1. Meridian Rare

_Disclaimer: No ownership of Pokémon or W.I.T.C.H._

* * *

 _W.I.T.C.H.: Guardian of the Guardians_

 _Chapter 1: Meridian Rare_

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Orange-like skies, desolate houses, creatures that couldn't be described… and a rift in the air. Coming through the rift and seeing a rather historic European village from above was a large orange lizard with wings and a tail aflame. Seeing below, it appeared villagers were unaware of the new creature flying overhead. On its back, a raven-haired boy wore a blue sweat-tee over a black t-shirt and jeans rode along with a yellow mouse with a tail shaped in a lightning bolt. The boy wore a red baseball cap with the front designed black with a small green circle with a bigger semicircle acting as a dome. "Where did we end up, Pikachu?" he asked.

("I'm not sure, Ash,") the mouse squeaked. The lizard growled, unsure itself.

"It just feels like we've somehow traveled back in time." Before long, the three saw a group of people adjacent to the trees.

"Lord Phobos had promised us a unity among us Meridians," a young bald man explained. "However, the queen and her guardians not only have denied us this unity to rule among those, but banish anyone who dare commit treason." The crowd cheered on the words of their speaker. "We will go to villages around Meridian and assemble a tribe to send the queen to her chambers for her false allegations on our Lord Phobos!" The lizard stopped its travel as Ash and his creatures listened in. Turning, one of the people in the rally turned to see Ash and the creatures.

"A dragon!" he cried out. The lizard snarled, enraged by the name. The speaker worked his way through the crowd to confront the boy riding the flying creature. Ash leaped down to see the commotion.

"You! From the creature you ride upon, you must be aligned with those of the council!" Already, Ash felt cornered by the assumption.

"Slow down!" he urged. "We just got here!"

("We don't know what you're talking about!") the mouse squeaked.

"Of course you did," the speaker mocked. "The Council of Kandrakar would send their members around Meridian in their 'mission' for their peace." Ash struggled to understand the speaker's explanation.

"Kandrakar, Meridian, a council..." he repeated the list of words. "I don't know what you're talking about! I was training with my Pokémon when a rift opened, we're curious about it and you're accusing us of being something you all know?"

"Your lies will not tempt us, child. You are in possession of a dragon." The lizard snarled again, insulted to the reference.

"I could tell you that Charizard's not a dragon, but since you're not believing what I'm saying..." The mouse leaped from Charizard to Ash's shoulder, still squeaking in defense.

"Those clothes!" a member of the rally called out. "They're signs of someone from Earth!"

"Get them!" another member shouted. Charizard breathed fire from its snout and the mouse squeezed its cheeks to release a ray of electricity. The rally stepped back, staving from burn or shock. Ash needed to do something in a hurry.

'I can't release any Pokémon to attack these people,' he thought. 'They're not letting me speak, they've already assumed I'm part of some council.' The people began to hurl anything they could get their hands on: rocks, sticks, spears, sickles… They hurled it at Ash and the creatures. They covered up, almost none of the projectiles striking anything. Charizard formed a ball of energy within its snout before shooting. It struck a thrown dagger which created a concussive blast. Ash saw the result, knowing the attack. 'That was Dragon Rage. I can't say that attack's name. It would confirm their suspicions.'

("Look out, Ash!") the mouse squeaked. Ash turned to find a large rock flying in his direction.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" The mouse jumped from his shoulder with a glowing tail. With one swing, Pikachu pulverized the rock into pebbles. This astonished the rally.

"That mouse can harden its tail and shoot lightning at us?" awed one.

"Those creatures aren't normal!" another gulped. Ash came forward once more to make his claim.

"I did not come here to fight anyone!" he pleaded. "I came here out of curiosity! Battling is the last thing I want to do!" The people continued to hurl whatever wasn't stuck in the dirt. Charizard used its wings to bat away the blunt weapons. Ash figured his words fell on deaf ears. "This isn't good! They're not listening!" Ash turned away from the mob formed. Someone threw a club from the back and Ash turned back around. The club missed his head by inches.

"Get him!" someone from the crowd yelled out.

"Not good. Run!" Before Ash could take a step to run, a large rock smacked him in the back of the head. He fell and rolled on the dirt a few times, unconscious. His Pokémon instantly became worried.

("Ash!") squeaked Pikachu. Seeing the boy down, the mob seemed a little concerned as well.

"Did we…?" another member of the mob questioned.

"No, just knocked out," acknowledged the leader. "We can reform him to help us usurp the queen." Pikachu chose a different way by zapping the leader. He fell, allowing Charizard to scoop the unconscious boy from the ground. Pikachu stood in front of the crowd.

"We forgot about the dragon," one more member stuttered. Charizard breathed more flames, forcing all to back away. It bought time for Pikachu to regroup and fly into the forest. The leader stood after his shocking event.

"If those creatures reach the queen, our actions will not tread lightly." Deep within the forest, a blond girl and a brunette young man had a nice stroll. The young man wore a leather jacket over a green shirt while the blond with long braided ponytails donned a blue dress under a sky blue robe and wore a circlet. She also wore a necklace with a talisman holding an emerald tear drop.

"Do you still feel bad about what happened to your mother, Caleb?" she asked. "Sure, she's now locked in the Heart of Meridian for the rest of her eternity, buy Nerissa's still the one who gave birth to you."

"I'd rather not be reminded, your highness," Caleb irked. "All I want to do is look to making sure the kingdom's in peace. Besides, Phobos and his cronies are spending life sentences in your dungeon."

"No argument about what my brother deserves… Though if given the chance, you'd probably be back in Heatherfield with Cornelia."

"Perhaps… You've got plenty of guards to your safety… and the guardians at a moments' notice." The highness turned her head, finding a flower patch. Grown in the yard, different varieties of flowers from dandelions to tulips to carnations blossomed. This humored the highness.

"Looks like the flower patch is showing good signs. You can continue on. I'll probably be picking a few." Caleb didn't need his highness' explanation.

"Do what you need to do, Elyon." Permission offered, Elyon came to the patch, plucking flowers from the stems.

"That's the smell of spring starting to bloom." Meanwhile, Caleb waited for Elyon to come from the flowers. To him, she's probably getting a bouquet for him to give to this Cornelia. That's when a rustle caught his attention.

"That better not be Blunk playing another game with me." He journeyed to the rustling. "Come on, Blunk… No more fun and games." As he tried to call out whatever was in the rustle, Elyon saw some ivory buds. She looked on, astonished to the size and color.

"I wonder what kind of flowers these are?" Before she could pick one to see, a scream from Caleb. She turned to the sound and began to have the same beliefs as him. "Let me guess… Blunk's little calamity." She got to her feet and hurried to the sound. Caleb found Charizard and drew a sword. Elyon saw the situation beginning to play out. "What's going on?" Pikachu came out to help Charizard, squeaking for the queen to stay back. Elyon seemed awed to Pikachu's appearance. Caleb decided to inform her highness.

"There's a boy injured and they're guarding him!" Charizard huffed fire from his snout, a significant warning.

"That cute little guy?" Pikachu gawked, somewhat humbled with the compliment before straightening himself out. Charizard leaned in, ready to do whatever it took to keep the two at bay. Looking up, Elyon found Ash, still out from the blow to the back of the head. Pikachu saw Elyon's eyes darting to Ash, forcing him to dash back in defense. "That boy needs medical help!"

"I know, but I can't get close to him!" Elyon nodded with her own idea.

"Put your sword away. I got it."

"But my queen!" Hearing Caleb refer Elyon as a queen shocked the Pokémon.

("She's a queen?") garbled Charizard.

("But she's so young!") awed Pikachu. Caleb saw Elyon's nod and sheathed his sword. This allowed Elyon to confront the Pokémon.

"You're doing your best to keep your owner safe, right?" she asked. Pikachu squeaked, stunned that she came to him despite their abilities. "Can I make sure? I promise not to do anything rash, okay?" Charizard looked befuddled to the request but Pikachu thought this girl, this supposed queen, was a peaceful person. He raced up Charizard's body and peaked up between the horns. Elyon examined Ash, finding the injury. "He's got a pretty good bump. He'll be okay if we bring him to the castle. I have a nurse that can treat his wound." Charizard growled, still amazed at Elyon's control.

"Your highness..." spoke Caleb. Elyon bobbed nods, an idea in mind and feet pushing her to stand. She faced Charizard, ready to give a command.

"Can you carry him to my castle?" Charizard nodded, willing to obey if it meant Ash's health. "Thank you. I'm sure he'll be fine after he's checked out and rested." Pikachu leaped down from his partner and faced Elyon. "Seeing your cute face, I want to feed you some of what Meridian has to offer." That put a smile on Pikachu's face as Elyon hoisted and held him with a hug as Charizard scooped Ash.

("Guess my battle with Articuno's gonna be on hold,") Charizard grumbled. He spun to see Elyon starting their walk back but Caleb hanging around. ("Sorry for the mess.")

"It's good," Caleb replied. "Like her highness said, you're trying to keep him secured. Let's head back." Caleb started his pursuit to stay close to the queen in question. Elyon pondered about what to do with Pikachu, despite meeting him for the first time.

"I want to know if any of the guardians could take care of you while my castle takes care of him?" she thought. Pikachu crawled out of Elyon's arms before perching himself on her shoulder. "You like that spot?"

("It's where I am with Ash,") Pikachu squeaked.

"I see. When that boy wakes up, I'd like to know more about him." Pikachu sensed Elyon's interests about Ash. How would Ash react when he wakes to see the young queen?

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TO BE CONTINUED...


	2. Queen's Land

_Chapter 2: Queen's Land_

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It had been a couple of hours. Inside a castle not far from where Elyon and Caleb found Ash and his Pokémon, Elyon walked through the halls with Pikachu on her shoulder. Her journey was a room where Ash received treatment after a pelting from a mob itching for a coup. A redhead woman came out of a room to find Elyon and Pikachu arriving. "What's up with the boy we found?" she asked.

"The bump to his head's not a problem, just caught him on the spinal cord which caused him to fall," the woman relayed. "All he'll need is rest." Elyon nodded, thankful Ash's injuries weren't bad to begin with.

"Thanks." The woman nodded before departing. Elyon watched before turning to Pikachu while petting him. They entered the room where Ash slept, still out from the blow to the back of his head shown by the wraps around the hair. Approaching the bed, Pikachu leaped off Elyon to see if Ash started to come around. Elyon smiled as she peered to Ash's face. "You know, he's rather adorable for a boy." Pikachu nodded, agreeing with Elyon's assessment. Elyon reached Ash's head with her fingers grazing his cheek before combing his hair. "Perhaps I may have lucked out." She leaned her head to Ash's, lips puckering up. Just before she could connect her lips, a groan. Pikachu heard it, believing Ash wasn't sleeping anymore. Ash's eyelids fluttered before opening to find Elyon in his face. Elyon gasped, wishing she had a few more seconds. "Hey, there!" Ash looked up to the young blond.

"What's… going on?" he weakly asked. Elyon smiled, seeing life with Ash.

"You weren't out for long. Wanted to make sure you're okay." Elyon helped Ash sit up. "It's not everyday that someone outside of this world visits."

"So I've started to notice from that mob who attacked me." Elyon gawked from the briefing.

"A mob?"

"Yeah, they wanted to overthrow the queen in favor of this Phobos." Elyon shook her head held up by her head.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Meridians still back my brother despite his crimes." Ash and Pikachu blinked, unsure what they heard.

"Your brother?"

"Yeah, he used to rule this world before I teamed up with the guardians and punished him… though calling Phobos my brother is kinda stretching it." Ash recalled the mob mentioning "guardians" before.

"Those guys did bring that up as well..." That's when something clicked with Ash and about Elyon. "Hold on! I didn't get your name!" Elyon giggled, feeling the need to introduce herself.

"I'm Elyon, queen of Meridian." This shocked Ash and Pikachu about the blond.

("You're _really_ a queen?") the mouse squeaked. Both hopped out of bed and knelt to the girl in front.

"We're sorry, your highness!" said Ash. "We weren't aware of your title!" Their sincerity made Elyon chuckle.

"Okay, you two!" she laughed. "I may be queen but that doesn't mean I'm that much different from you." The clarification had Ash standing back on his feet.

"Really? I mean, it wasn't that long ago that we met royalty in a hidden part of Hoenn." While Elyon tried to figure out Ash's explanation, a man wearing a spiked helmet and cape appeared, donning slacks and loosely pointy ears.

"Your highness," he spoke with a heavy accent. He saw Ash, a smile across his face. "I see… The young lad's come to. That mouse and lizard vehemently stayed with you until she assured your health. They're as dedicated to guarding you as I am with the queen." Ash smiled about his Pokémon's concerns.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Pikachu and Charizard are loyal to me as a trainer and friend." Elyon started to realize which Pokémon was which.

"That means you're Pikachu?" she guessed. Pikachu squeaked to confirm her questioning. She then turned to Ash "Can I ask about you?" Ash nodded, willing to answer.

"I'm Ash Ketchum. I'm a Pokémon Trainer." The man nodded to Ash's identity. "Is Charizard okay?"

"Caleb and Aldarn are looking after him. That's Raythor. He used to be part of Phobos' council until the guardians showed him the truth." Raythor nodded.

"I'm a man of loyalty and honor by a code," he exclaimed. "A code that Lord Phobos disobeyed. Lady Elyon has a purpose and one I wish to fulfill." Ash bobbed a nod, sensing his trust.

"By the way, how did you find Meridian, let alone this mob willing to perform a coup on me?" To Ash, it was luck.

"My friends and I started on a new journey to challenge the Battle Frontier," he began. "I met Frontier Brain Noland where I saw he had an Articuno as a friend. On that note, I called the Charicific Valley to have my Charizard join me. After he arrived and met my old and new friends, we decided to have some training before I battled Articuno. That's when we saw some sort of tear in the sky, unbeknownst about it leading to this place. I became curious and, as I should have listened to Misty about Pokémon behaving like its trainer, so did Pikachu and Charizard. We flew in and saw a rally occurring. That's where I found a rally about returning Phobos to power." Raythor and Elyon glared to each other, rather disturbed to the information.

"Somehow, these people fail to assess Phobos' crimes as affecting themselves." Pikachu shuttered to the thought.

"It's only a small portion of people in Meridian," Elyon assured. "The rest of us are more peaceful since I took the throne." Ash and Pikachu wanted to believe Elyon's word.

"I see," Ash replied.

"Anyway, let's go see how your Charizard's doing." Pikachu liked the idea. "Raythor, can you check to see this report? I want to take Ash's word." Obeying, Raythor nodded to the task.

"It shall be looked into," he answered before departing. After Raythor left, Elyon guided Ash and Pikachu through the castle. Pikachu leaped from Ash's shoulder to Elyon's, much to her delight.

"Hope you don't mind. Ever since we guided your Pokémon back to the castle, I've enjoyed Pikachu's company."

"Not at all. Pikachu's got plenty of people enjoying him, just as long as you don't hug him too tight."

"It's all good. Back on Earth, I've adored plenty of animals. Of course, an adorable mouse like Pikachu isn't something you find on the streets."

"Hey, I could argue the same thing about queens that are around my age." Hearing the counterpoint, Elyon chuckled.

"Point taken." That's when Elyon stopped and turned to face Ash. "You know… you're just as adorable as Pikachu. Not sure if I want to have you or him by my side." Humbled, Ash coughed a giggle.

"Thanks… I guess. I don't try to take after my prime Pokémon on purpose." Elyon stepped toward to Ash despite his claim.

"Perhaps… I'm not arguing about it." Finally, she completed what she tried to do before: kiss Ash. Her peck nailed the visitor on the cheek. Ash's cheeks instantly burned red from the kiss.

"...And now I can say that I've been kissed by royalty. No question Brock wouldn't talk to me if I told him that." Caleb showed himself to Elyon and Ash. Beside him was Charizard and a bald young man with bones protruding around his head and cheeks.

"You're finally awake!" noted Caleb. Charizard growled happily. "Seems your lizard's also happy to see you on your feet." Ash bobbed a nod, expecting this from Charizard.

"It's been awhile since Charizard's seen me in a crisis." Elyon chose to introduce Caleb and his friend.

"Ash, that's Caleb," she started. "He's a rebel warrior and protector of the guardians during Phobos' reign. His friend and partner's Aldarn." Ash shook hands with the two.

"Ash is your name, huh?" spoke Aldarn. "It's a pleasure to know the owner of this strong lizard."

"At least you're not mistaking Charizard for a dragon," Ash joked. "Though his Dragon Rage attack would make you believe otherwise." Caleb had an interest to another topic.

"So, Queen Elyon," he spoke up. "How soon will we expect the guardians?"

"Doubt much longer. We'll need to surprise them… and I know what to do." Interested, Ash wanted to get involved.

"This I gotta hear," he sneered with Pikachu. In the throne room, Elyon and Pikachu patiently waited for the arrival of these guardians. Suddenly, a tear opened in midair. Pikachu wanted to see it but Elyon shook her head, causing Pikachu to stay hidden behind the throne. Soon enough, five young women flew in on butterfly wings. One was a redhead wearing a purple long-sleeve midriff with a teal miniskirt and purple knee-high boots. One was a chestnut brunette with a teal long-sleeve midriff with a purple miniskirt and shin-high boots. The third had tanned skin and glasses under midnight blue hair and bangs shaped like spider legs. She wore a sleeveless purple midriff and teal shorts and shin-high boots. The tall blond girl donned a teal long-sleeve, shoulder-less midriff with a long purple skirt and knee-high boots. The last was a young Asian raven-haired with a teal sleeveless midriff and purple skirt with small boots. All five wore turquoise/green striped stockings. The redhead came to Elyon first.

"Sorry we couldn't get here faster, Elyon," she apologized.

"No problem, Will," she shrugged off.

"So, what's the deal in calling us? Another force of evil invading Meridian?"

"Not quite." Elyon waived her fingers to have Pikachu leaped on her shoulder. This irked the young women.

("These are the guardians?") he squeaked. The blond wasn't sure about the sight of Pikachu.

"What's up with that rodent?" she questioned. While the blond seemed to want to reject Pikachu, Will and the others had one reaction: coos.

"It's adorable!" the Asian awed as she picked Pikachu from Elyon's shoulder. "Maybe more adorable than Mister Huggles." While Pikachu blinked at the new name, Will understood her friend.

"I hate to debate that, Hay Lin," she giggled as she itched Pikachu's head. "I'm afraid Matt's dormouse might have some competition." The tanned-skinned girl saw Pikachu as well, but showed some concern.

"If not for my dad's allergies, I wouldn't mind having it to cuddle in bed with," she expressed. "No offense."

("None taken,") Pikachu replied. The brunette seemed to melt at Pikachu's squeaking.

"Oh my goodness..." she squealed. "I want one! It just sounds so cute the way it squeaks!"

"Not to mention these adowable widdle red cheeks!" added Hay Lin. "Why haven't I seen you before?!" The coos got to Pikachu's head that he blushed. Easily noticed, Will fell for the Pokémon.

"That's the cutest blush I've ever seen!" she yelped.

"For sure, Will," the brunette giggled. "I want to have him first! Can I? Please?!" Elyon had to clear the air about Pikachu's ownership.

"I'm sure Pikachu feels right at home with you, Irma," she snickered. "But you'll need to take it up with his owner, first." The guardians looked to Elyon, perplexed as Ash observed them from around an entrance.

"They're the guardians?" he gulped. "Well, four out of five ain't bad." To the blond, this information presented its surprise.

"It's not yours?" she realized. "If that's true, who does it belong to?" This was Ash's cue as he came out of hiding.

"Pikachu belongs to me," he announced. The five turned to the approaching boy as Pikachu escaped Will's arms to Ash's shoulder. The guardians looked at Ash, stunned.

"Wait… you were here all this time?" gawked Hay Lin.

"Yeah, I'm surprised you didn't notice." The brunette froze as she gazed at Ash.

"I see now," the blond studied. "Though I'd imagine that rodent's owner to be a little older." Irma didn't think the same way.

"Hey, I think he's handsome enough already, Cornelia," she rebuffed. "Sometimes, age isn't necessary." Ash irked to Irma's claim as he itched his head, slightly humored. Will decided to confront Ash for introductions.

"Looks like you got Irma's interest right off the bat," she joked before extending a hand. "Anyway, I'm Wilhelmina Vandom, but everyone calls me Will." Ash accepted Will's hand for a shake.

"Ash Ketchum," he named himself. "And Pikachu's not the only Pokémon on me." The guardians got a little skeptical about the statement.

"You have more?" asked Cornelia. Ash pulled five red/white balls from his waist and tossed them in the air. Aside from Charizard was a human-sized green gecko with leaves protruding from its arms and a vine on its head like its hairstyle, a sky blue baby elephant with orange plates on the trunk and ears, a large black swallow and red crustacean. The girls awed the creatures that appeared.

"They're all Pokémon?" gasped the tanned-skinned. Cornelia saw the blue elephant and approached it.

"Cutest baby elephant I've seen!" she awed. The baby elephant walked over to Cornelia where she petted the creature. "I'd rather have this than the Pikachu." The guardians wanted to have more fun with the Pokémon when Will figured out the need.

"I see..." she realized. "You want us to have him in Heaterfield as a hiding place." Elyon nodded in the guess.

"I'm also gonna come with you," she proclaimed. "I've received information about a mob wanting to overthrow me for Phobos. Best if I stay with you for a few days." Caleb joined in the conversation after exchanging a kiss with Cornelia.

"If you're going back to Earth, I'll come with," he offered. Ash recalled his Pokémon back to the balls they came out of. Will used a glowing pink pendant to slash a tear in the sky.

"Ready to go?" she asked. Nods from everyone, the group entered the tears. After Caleb entered in the back, the tear closed up. How will Ash and the Pokémon fare in a new place?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	3. Home Heatherfield Advantage

_Chapter 3: Home Heatherfield Advantage_

* * *

Ash and the guardians came out of a portal from Meridian with Elyon and Caleb joining. They found themselves in a living room. After stepping through, the guardians started to glow and morph. "So we're here?" asked Ash.

"Well, more or less," Irma replied before Ash turned around. That's when he saw five girls instead of guardians. All wore street clothes and weren't as developed while as guardians, not to mention stood around Ash's height.

"What in the world?!" Pikachu gawked to the guardians' new looks.

"Surprised?" teased Hay Lin. "This is what we look like outside defending the veil." Ash and Pikachu blinked in confusion. Cornelia peered around the place, realizing their setting.

"Looks like we're back in my apartment," she noted. "Hopefully, Matt keeps Lillian company until we leave and get to the Silver Dragon." Caleb and the girls nodded.

"My grandmother and great aunt can give us more of what's going on with your arrival and what we should do." Ash nodded, information from a source Hay Lin would know about. He did wonder about the name.

"Silver Dragon?"

"You'll know it when you see it," Will assured. The tanned-skinned girl, her hair in a ponytail instead of the spider legs.

"However, we need to make sure no one other than anyone within the circle knows about his Pokémon," she warned. "We don't want to make his situation any worse than it already is." Will and Elyon bobbed their heads to agree.

"Even Taranee can understand the situation, and she didn't need a lot of time to start planning," Elyon praised. Ash heard all the names with the guardian five.

"I was gonna ask about your name but you said it before I could," he shrugged. Taranee huffed a chuckle at Ash's query.

"Let me breakdown the names, Ash." She began naming while pointing to each member. Will told you hers. There's Irma Lair, I'm Taranee Cook, she's Cornelia Hale and of course, Hay Lin."

"What's awesome about it," Will added. "Our names have formed a code name for ourselves: W.I.T.C.H."

("Whoa, that's cool!") the mouse squeaked in awe. That's when he heard footsteps from above.

"Is that you, Cornelia?" a voice of a young girl asked. All freaked to the sound and Cornelia turned to Pikachu.

"Hurry!" she loudly whispered. "Hide before Lillian sees you!" Pikachu dove away from Ash's shoulder, taking Ash's cap along before diving behind a sofa. That's when a young blond girl came down the stairs and saw the group.

"You brought everyone, even Elyon?" she gulped. All turned to the little girl, Elyon being the first to greet her.

"Hey, Lillian!" she smiled. "Thought I come by to check on how you're doing." That's when Lillian saw Ash. Her eyes soon saw flowers and hearts behind the new boy.

"You brought me a boyfriend!" She made a beeline to Ash and tackled him to the floor. "Now Cornelia and I have a boy to call our own! She has Caleb and I have you!" She started giving Ash a cascade of kisses on his face as he flailed to free himself.

"Lillian, get off!" shouted a young man. Entering to find the little kissing machine on Ash was a raven-haired young man in a magenta hoodie. He and Cornelia rushed to Ash's aid and pulled Lillian from Ash, his face covered with saliva from the kissing.

"Let me go!" Ash tried to sit up after the kissing barrage. Will and Hay Lin reached Ash to clean his face with a napkin.

"Talk about first impressions," Will joked. "Lillian got you good." Ash reeled from the amount of lip Lillian applied, literally.

"I'm feeling it," he groaned. Cornelia turned to Lillian, not proud of her action.

"That's not the proper way to greet a guest, Lillian!" she scolded.

"No fair!" snapped Lillian. "You get to have Caleb, Will gets to have Matt… Why can't I have someone?!" As the two blonds argued, the raven-haired got to meet the new boy.

"Sorry, Lillian got out of my sight for that split second," he apologized. "Anyway, who did you bring this time?" Will spoke for Ash.

"Matt, this is Ash," she introduced. "Ash, this is my boyfriend, Matt Olsen." Ash shook Matt's hand when he offered one.

"Nice to meet you," he said. "Trust me, I won't make anything to take Will away."

"Don't worry about it," Matt scoffed. The argument between Cornelia and Lillian simmered.

"Now, if you behave," she planned. "I'll bring Ash over. Let me and my friends get him situated around the city first." Lillian gave into the elder blond's demand as Pikachu raced behind her with a black tabby cat following.

"Okay," Lillian surrendered as Pikachu leaped into Irma's arms. Caleb palmed Cornelia's shoulder for something.

"I'll watch over Lillian with Matt," he offered. "You can get Ash to the Silver Dragon." Cornelia nodded to the suggestion.

"Thanks, Caleb," she praised before kissing him on the side of the head. Elyon joined Ash and the girls filed out of the apartment to an elevator, the cat staying close behind. Feeling the cat's fur, Cornelia found the tabby. "Napoleon probably wants to eat Pikachu." Ash's mouse squeaked in fear, protesting the thought.

"I'm not sure Napoleon would like anything that would shock him," he tried to translate. However, the cat had a nasty surprise.

"I've already been fed by my guardian, thank you!" the cat replied. This spooked Ash and Pikachu in learning about Napoleon's ability to talk. However, Ash calmed himself.

"Just what I need in my life," he murmured. "Another talking cat." The girls blinked to the detail.

"What do you mean 'another talking cat'?" questioned Hay Lin.

"Are you saying that you deal with another cat that can talk human?" guessed Napoleon. "And if so, wouldn't that mouse talk as well?" To Pikachu, that ability wasn't something he desired.

("I don't need a human tongue to communicate with humans,") the Electric Mouse Pokémon refused. Napoleon didn't understand Pikachu's words but somehow understood his tone.

"When you've been with Pokémon for as long as I have, you start to understand what could be on their mind," Ash explained. "Besides, I'd rather have you as the talking cat than Team Rocket's Meowth." Napoleon didn't mind the acknowledgment. The elevator reached the lowest floor. Cornelia hit the top button in the elevator.

"Now I'll be back in about a couple of hours," she briefed.

"As long as Lillian's safe, what you do is none of my business," Napoleon brushed off. The elevator closed before the car lifted upward.

"Napoleon's not bad," Ash smiled.

"Blame Will," Cornelia pointed out. Ash turned to Will with a smug.

"How the heck would I've known he'd talk, let alone be the embodiment of the Heart of Earth?" she nagged. Irma wasn't wanting an argument between friends, especially around a new friend of theirs.

"Not important right now," she voiced as she approached Ash… with her eyes closed. "Let's go see Yan Lin and learn more about it. Come on!" She grabbed a hand a dragged the person away. "Besides, you're better off with me than Cornelia's little sister." Unbeknownst to Irma, it wasn't who she wanted to grab.

"I don't want to go in that direction," Hay Lin protested. Irma stopped and turned to see Hay Lin, her hand being held. Irma gulped to who she pulled away. The rest joined the two and Irma strutted around the back as they journeyed.

"Hey, is it alright if I hold Pikachu?" asked Taranee. Ash and Pikachu blinked to the Cook girl.

"What brought this up?" he replied.

"Well… aside from Cornelia, we all want to have a chance to take care of Pikachu and to understand him and Pokémon better. I can't take him home with my father's allergies but maybe, just holding him can be enough."

"Yeah, I fell for Pikachu as did Irma, Taranee and Hay Lin," Will admitted. "I'm pretty sure Matt would enjoy him as well." Ash blinked in surprise.

"Matt knows about you?" he wondered.

"Yeah, and he's been willing to help us." Instead of letting Ash answer, Pikachu jumped into Taranee's arms. Taranee petted the Pokémon and Cornelia darted her head away. Irma tried grabbing hands again, this time she watched Ash's hand swaying back and forth. A sly hand reached for the swaying finger-less gloves. Before she could grab the hand, Hay Lin announced their arrival after rounding a building with a silver Chinese dragon statue in the front.

"Let's enter through the back," she decided as she pulled a key from her skirt. However, the door opened to reveal an elderly raven-haired Asian woman in a green robe.

"Ah, Hay Lin!" she greeted. Hay Lin came over to the woman and hugged her.

"Hey, grandma!" Hay Lin's grandmother saw the rest of the guardians.

"So, the queen has her guardians escort her here. What's the occasion?" Elyon came forward and addressed the grandmother.

"Technically, Yan..." she tried to deflect the purpose. "We did escort him and his mouse." Ash and Taranee stepped up with Irma stayed behind.

"Grandma, this is Ash and his Pikachu," Hay Lin greeted. "Ash, Pikachu, my grandma is a former guardian. She's the one who formed us." This awed Ash and Pikachu as they shook hands with the former protector.

"It's an honor to meet you," he greeted.

"I wouldn't be so sure if it's me who's honored or vice versa," she joked. "I'd like to know how you wound up here since mice like that." Entering a backroom., Ash explained to Yan the same story to Elyon which she aided. "Well, I see that you came at an interesting time. I would like to see the rest of your creatures but some sound like they may be too big for down here." Ash knew his Charizard would have a tough time in the room. Before anyone could speak another word, a scream. All turned to a green troll-like creature being held by Will. He wore orange ragged clothes and had hair on his feet.

"Blunk want to have mousey!" he complained. Will wasn't going to comply.

"Blunk will stay from Pikachu if Blunk knows what's good for him," she denied. Blunk stopped flailing and complied with Will's demand. Irma stood behind Ash, her hands on his shoulders.

"I've been wondering how close you and Pikachu have been," she motioned. To Ash, the answer couldn't be more clear.

"Pikachu's my first Pokémon and best friend," he replied. "See, I went to get my first Pokémon from Professor Oak who was suppose to have either a Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur. Unfortunately, they were taken before Professor Oak had one more available and Pikachu became numero uno. We've had close calls, though nothing, not even the struggle of many legendary Pokémon tested our bond more than one day where I saw a tribe of Pikachu." Aside from Cornelia who now kept Blunk still, the girls listened with intent.

"You mean, a group of these little guys?" gulped Will. Ash removed his cap and flung it onto Pikachu's head.

"Yep. Seeing how close those Pikachu were to mine, I wondered what I should do." To Yan, Ash wanted to do what was best for Pikachu.

"You wanted to leave Pikachu with his tribe?" she figured. Ash bowed his head, rather shamed to admit a truth.

"After Team Rocket attacked and tried to take the tribe, I felt that if anyone could teach the Pikachu to fight back, it would be mine. I left Pikachu, thinking what was best for him. However, Pikachu and the tribe cheered for us. They knew we were meant to be with each other, despite the close calls and the arguments." Other than Cornelia, the girls and Blunk cried from the story. Cornelia didn't shed a tear but did comfort Ash while Irma hugged Ash from behind and soaked his shoulder.

"In a sense, I'm actually glad you and Pikachu are together," Cornelia spoke for the rest. Pikachu squeaked to the blond, a likable squeak. Cornelia smiled and nodded, but quickly turned her head away. That's when Matt entered the place.

"Hey, what's with the waterworks?" he asked. The crying settled down when they heard Will's boyfriend.

"Sorry, Matt," she apologized. "We heard a great story from Ash." Matt patted Will on the head.

"I see. Anyway, it's nearing evening." To Hay Lin, Ash needed a place to stay.

"Ash can't live on the streets," she checked. "And we can't expose Pikachu or the other Pokémon." Matt had a quick solution.

"He can stay at my pad. It's no problem." Will heard the suggestion, liking it before stepping to Pikachu.

"This is great!" she yelped. "You get to see Mister Huggles. I'm sure you two can get along." Arrangements made, Matt led Ash out with Pikachu waiving to the girls. Cornelia looked but didn't want to.

"I have a feeling Cornelia may be on Pikachu before we know it," Irma wagered. Cornelia heard the brunette, still denying the thought.

"As if!" she snapped. Half an hour later, Matt opened a door to a white house.

"Hope you don't mind some burgers," he explained. "The Silver Dragon's a Chinese restaurant. I know this is still new."

"That's alright," Ash waived off. "Probably better that I didn't know until we stepped away." That's when a gray dormouse saw Matt and crawled up to his shoulder.

"Hey, I was just gonna come find you, Mister Huggles. We have new friends." Huggles looked to Ash approaching.

"Aw, that's cute!" Huggles leaped from Matt's shoulder to Ash's and sniffed him. That's when it spun around Ash's head, the bushy tail coating his neck.

"That's a winner!" To Ash, Matt believed Huggles accepted him. "Oh, I know!" Ash knelt down and looked through his bag before pulling out a canister.

"What do you have there?"

"Pokémon food. I wonder if Mister Huggles would enjoy it." Opening the canister revealed pellets. Ash gave a pellet to Pikachu before Huggles got one. Huggles looked bewildered so Pikachu demonstrated how to nibble on the piece. Huggles tried the piece… and wanted more. "I think he likes it."

"Hey, not bad." As night settled, Ash wondered about what he has to do. He's in a new world with new friends. His adventure had now started.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	4. Tale of Aura

_Chapter 4: Tale of Aura_

* * *

The morning after Ash arrived in Heatherfield, Matt woke up and got ready for the day ahead. After fixing himself for the day, he found Ash, Pikachu and Huggles still asleep. Huggles rested on top of Pikachu, both curled up while on Ash's torso. To Matt, this was a cute opportunity as he grabbed his cellphone and took a picture. "Will and the others will like this," he sneered as he took the picture before sending it to the guardians. Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin heard chimes to their phones. All checked their cellphones before leaving their homes and saw the images, each with a different take.

"Oh, that's so adorable!" cooed Will.

"Will was right, the two do look cute," Taranee chuckled.

"Whatever, Matt," Cornelia dismissed.

"Pikachu found a new friend with Mister Huggles!" squealed Hay Lin. While the picture had been meant to show the snuggled mice, Matt inexplicably caught Ash asleep as well. Irma grew smitten with Ash's sleeping face.

"I wish I was sleeping with him," she wildly hoped. Back at Matt's home, Matt closed the door, prompting Huggles to stir and look up. Noting his owner gone, he leaped down, causing Pikachu to wake as well.

("What's wrong?") he squeaked. The dormouse scampered to find a snack of crumbles in a dish. Huggles nibbled to the food left by Matt as Pikachu reached the scene. ("This must be what you eat.") Huggles nodded, allowing Pikachu to have a sample. The Pokémon took a bite of Huggles' food, shrugging to the taste. ("Not bad...") Pikachu's squeaking alerted Ash to see his and Matt's mice munching.

"Breakfast already?" he teased. Pikachu squeaked with some crumbs in his mouth. "Guess this is what Matt leaves before going to school." Suddenly, there's a knock on the door.

"Ash, you in there?" sounded Elyon. Ash could wonder why Meridian's queen decided to visit.

"You can come in!" Opening the door revealed the young queen and Caleb. Ash seemed perplexed to their visit. "Is something going on in Meridian?"

"An update," Caleb confirmed. "Raythor said he's found a handful of Meridians who have connections to a front involving groups following Phobos. They could be tried for conspiracy." Ash's word seemed to have unearthed plans.

"On a side note..." the queen spoke. "Will showed me a photo of Pikachu and Mister Huggles cuddled real close…" She sprinted to Pikachu and held him in her arms. "And I swear it's the cutest thing I've seen!" Pikachu blushed heavily to the news but mostly to the cooing of Elyon.

"Another thing, I wonder if you've fought before." Ash gulped to the question.

"Not at all," he denied. "Back in our world, fighting is prohibited among people. Instead, we have Pokémon battles. Heck, there are leagues for Pokémon trainers like myself to compete in." Caleb twitched an eyebrow.

"That's kinda barbaric," Elyon murmured.

"It's not as bad as you think. Pokémon battles are controlled and trainers with experience can be judges and rule when a Pokémon's unable to continue. That way, the Pokémon don't get hurt." Elyon seemed to understand what Ash goes through back in his world.

"I see. I'd rather not see anything bad happen to Pikachu if that helped." Caleb decided to change the topic in a sense.

"Anyway, I want to get started on training," he brought up. "Who knows, your Pokémon could learn from it." Ash pondered the idea. Meanwhile, the guardians and Matt gathered in the cafeteria for lunch. Their table was the only one talking about Matt's photo.

"Will, you called it," Taranee laughed. "Mister Huggles and Pikachu seem inseparable."

"I know, and they couldn't look more like big and little brothers if they tried," Will giggled. "Seeing those two, I wanted to have them in bed together."

"Same here!" agreed Hay Lin.

"You two can relax with rodents if you want," Cornelia huffed. "I'll admit that by looking at the photo again, Ash looks like he's sleeping like a baby. It's rather adorable." Matt gulped to the extra detail.

"Oh, I wasn't trying to get Ash at all," he admitted. "Guess I need to work on that angle." Cornelia shrugged her shoulders before noting heart-shaped bubbles. Eyes closed, Irma seemed to be daydreaming. Matt and the other guardians noticed the bubbles radiating from the brunette.

"I wanna snuggle so close to you, young man!" she swooned. "Long walks on the beach, shopping every weekend..."

"Irma?" called out Taranee. Irma didn't hear the tanned-skinned girl, still dreaming about spending time with Ash after seeing Matt's photo this morning.

"I may be a guardian, but stay with me as I'm in need of love as well..." Hay Lin lifted a finger, telling the others about a way to stir her.

"You talking about Andrew Hornby?" she teased. This woke Irma and got her head on a swift swivel.

"Where?!" Finding no one around, Irma grew irritated. "Okay, what did I do to deserve that?!"

"You apparently were daydreaming," Cornelia explained. "Though something tells me it's about Matt's picture." Irma eased down after understanding the issue.

"Okay, I may have been wanting for a while since we've met him in Meridian. Most of us did go a little wild for Pikachu but I'd rather have Ash instead." Matt and the other guardians groaned to Irma's wish.

"If it wasn't enough with Martin and VMJ," Taranee listed. The abbreviations reached Cornelia's nerve.

"How many times do I have to say it: Don't call VMJ!" She needed to take a breath. "Anyway, just once would I like to be with Ash, okay? Am I clear now?"

"Crystal..." muttered Will. Back at Matt's home, Ash, holding a wooden sword, faced three dummies made of wood and aluminum. Caleb with Huggles on his shoulder and Elyon with Pikachu in her arms, they watched Ash set himself.

"His reaction time has increased gradually," Caleb studied. Ash rushed at the middle dummy, it holding a staff like a lance. He swatted the staff, causing the dummy to spin. Ash turned and deflected the staff from reaching as an outside dummy rotated. Ash ducked the second attack, the staff coming within inches. The other dummy spun around, all three now rotating to strike Ash. Whether the dummies twirled slowly, or Ash's reaction speed seemed unusually fast, he dodged or deflected each swing. He soon stopped all three with thrusts, knocking each to the dirt. Caleb, Elyon and the mice gawked to the presentation.

"That… was awesome," Elyon yelped. Pikachu looked a little unnerved from Ash's performance.

"Not even Matt improved that fast with sword training." Ash looked back, seeing the downed dummies. He whistled to his destruction.

"Did I tap into Sir Aaron a little?" he wondered. Huggles reached Ash first and nuzzled his cheek. "Seems you like that, huh?"

"It's not much of a surprise, considering Matt and Huggles still have powers offered by my mother. She was a guardian herself with Yan Lin." Ash awed the history with Caleb.

"I'm surprised you and Hay Lin are descendants of guardians." Ash felt Huggles leap away. Turning, he saw the dormouse heading inside. "Matt must be back." Elyon followed Huggles and seeing the dormouse crawl up Matt with Will by his side.

"Hey, Mister H!" he greeted. "Ash take care of you?" Huggles nuzzled to Matt as the rest came in.

"I'd rather be careful around Ash," Caleb warned. "He's got some impressive instincts." Will sensed something about Caleb's claim.

"You were training a trainer?" she questioned. "The big threat to all the worlds is spending the rest of his life in the dungeon! Meridian's in peace!"

"For now anyway. You never know where the next threat to Meridian or Earth or anywhere else can come from." Inside as the sun began its fall, Ash found a guitar and turned to Matt, his arm clung by Will.

"You do a lot of guitar work?" he asked.

"Yeah, and I have a band called 'Cobalt Blue'," Matt expressed. "I'm the lead guitarist and singer." Pikachu squeaked, interested to the music he played. Will giggled to Pikachu's intrigue.

"That's what's awesome about finding unique animals," she mentioned. "You never know them until you see what they do in unusual circumstances." Huggles sensed something from the front door, alerting Pikachu.

("Someone coming?") it asked. Then a knock to the door. Matt answered to find Cornelia.

"Ash here?" she requested. Ash came to the door, curious.

"Cornelia?" he called. "What's wrong?" Instead of explaining, Cornelia grabbed Ash by the wrist and dragged him. A new comforting human to the dormouse, Huggles jumped from Matt and raced up to his head.

"It's Lillian! She claims to have been good, showed me from her teachers about her homework and now she wants a reward!" Taranee saw the two, suspicion arousing. She darted across the street and nearly cut the tailing crew.

"Taranee?" called Elyon. Taranee spun to see the pursuers.

"Any reason Cornelia's dragging Ash?" she questioned. "I hope Caleb didn't do anything to upset her!" Caleb cringed to Taranee's accusation.

"Knowing what happened yesterday, it's gotta be Lillian," Will corrected.

"We're just making sure that's the case," Matt promised before rejoining the chase. Taranee nodded to what she wanted to do and placed fingers on the sides of her head.

" _Hay Lin, Irma, come to Cornelia's apartment,"_ she minded. Ash and Cornelia arrived at the apartment complex and boarded the elevator. The door closed and the elevator ascended.

"Not the way I wanted to start Spring Break," she huffed. Ash blinked to Cornelia's confession. The elevator stopped and opened the door. They reached her apartment and Cornelia opened the door. Huggles leaped down and raced to see Napoleon.

"So that's where you're hanging out," the cat acknowledged.

"I'm sure if you want to rest with me, Will or Cornelia could bring you over," Ash offered. "It's not like May's Skitty that she left at her home in Petalburg City." Cornelia looked confused to what sounded like a Pokémon.

"You said… Skitty?" she blinked. Ash pulled out a red hand-held device and lifted the lid. He worked the controls before bringing up a pink kitty with large ears, a cream colored underbelly and what was a cat toy as a tail.

"Skitty, the Kitten Pokémon," the device computed with a male voice. "Skitty will often play by chasing its tail until it's dizzy." Cornelia looked to coo at Skitty's picture. Lillian came out and tackled Ash.

"You're here!" she cheered. Huggles and Napoleon leaped down to see Ash pull himself up. Cornelia shook her head.

"Lillian..." she groaned.

"I realize it's late. Wished Cornelia brought you here sooner. I wanna know if you can tell me a bedtime story." Ash blinked to the request.

"A bedtime story?" he repeated.

"Lillian, don't you think having him over to play is enough?" scolded Cornelia. That's when Ash thought of something.

"Hold on, Cornelia..." The blonds wondered what was on the raven-haired boy's mind. "I heard a story not long before coming to Heatherfield. I'm pretty sure Lillian will like it." The other guardians arrived with Elyon and Pikachu but didn't enter until Cornelia guided the kids to Lillian's room full of plush dolls. Cornelia suspected the bedtime story came from the Pokémon world but tried to listen in as Irma reached the doorway.

"So, what's the story about?" wondered Lillian.

"Well, it starts off long ago in a palace, one caught between two kingdoms and their armies in war. Those kingdoms wanted land and to claim the country. In the palace was-"

"A princess, right?"

"Wrong! A young queen named Rin that inherited the palace after her parents, the previous king and queen, passed away."

"And she didn't have a prince while she was a princess?"

"The war broke out before the royal family could find a suitor." Lillian wasn't liking the story so far. "However, the two kingdoms used more than swords and cannons to confront their enemies." This perked the girls, even outside the bedroom. "They had unique and powerful creatures ranging from turtles that breathe ice to rodents that control the earth."

"Were there dragons? And could they breathe fire?"

"There _were_ dragons, and they did more than breathe fire. They could summon tornadoes by flapping their wings."

"That's cool! Did these creatures have a name?"

"They had different names, though for the most part… they were called Mystical Beasts. Anyway, Queen Rin feared the destruction the two armies and their Mystical Beasts were doing, not only to the country but the people as well. However, Queen Rin had help: a knight with his own Mystical Beast. The knight was named Sir Aaron and his Beast was named Lucario."

"Ooh, he sounds intimidating. What armor did he wear? Was he in a knight armor that can't be destroyed?"

"Actually, he wore no armor at all." This somewhat irked Lillian.

"How's he suppose to be a knight when he can't dress like a knight?"

"Because a suit of armor doesn't make the knight… It's what they do that defines the knight. Tell me, what do you know about knights?" Lillian thought about the description.

"Well… They're brave, right?"

"Correct. They'll do what they can to protect the people they care about. Anyway, Aaron and Lucario share a bond unlike anyone or anything they've seen: they use a power called Aura." Lillian sat up, urged to know more.

"Aura? That doesn't sound powerful."

"Not right away but with their training, they did a lot with Aura like heightened senses to knw when to dodge attacks or detect where the other one is." Lillian awed the versatility of this power.

"It can do all that? Wow!" She now realized that she had been interrupting the bedtime story. "Sorry. Anyway, Sir Aaron and his Lucario are protecting Queen Rin."

"Until Sir Aaron thought of a way to stop the war. Queen Rin didn't want him to go, but it seemed there was no choice. There was one destination in mind: it was called the Tree of Beginning. There was a Mystical Beast in the Tree of Beginning that could bring peace to the country. Queen Rin watched on, helpless to stop Sir Aaron. Both Sir Aaron and Lucario started their way to the Tree of Beginning. They encountered the Mystical Beasts from both sides, not caring if this was an ally or an enemy. However, their Aura proved superior and they made their way to the Tree of Beginning." Lillian became curious to the name of the tree named over and over.

"Is the Tree of Beginning really a tree?"

"Well, it kinda is. The Tree of Beginning is made of stone, not wood. Still, it's the largest tree ever seen. Anyway, Sir Aaron and Lucario fought their way through both armies and entered the Tree of Beginning which they found the Beast to bring peace. The two found the Beast asleep in crystal. They had one option to wake the Beast named Mew." Lillian had a guess to the task.

"Kiss it awake?"

"No, silly. They used their aura and donated it to Mew. They had no time since both armies were about to strike with Queen Rin unable to escape. That's when there was a flash. It came from the Tree of Beginning itself and the flash stopped both armies in their tracks. What awakened was the Beast of Peace. Everyone watched Mew as the masters of these Mystical Beasts refused orders."

"They had enough war, I bet."

"They didn't want anymore. Those Mystical Beasts, abused and untreated, turned their rage against those that did them harm. Queen Rin wondered what happened to Sir Aaron, her knight and his Beast in question, a blue human-like creature with a head of a dog and spikes from his chest and wrists. Her wait wasn't long. Sir Aaron and Lucario emerged, barely alive."

"Did they use too much? It sounds like they came out of the Tree of Beginning exhausted."

"They nearly did. If so… they would've died. They used enough to awaken Mew. Seeing her knight and his Mystical Beast alive, Queen Rin dashed out of the castle and embraced Sir Aaron. It was at that moment where Queen Rin declared her love to Sir Aaron." Lillian's face brightened to the story.

"Sir Aaron is now a king?"

"He is, no longer a _Sir_ Aaron but a _King_ Aaron. They lived happily in peace and in a peaceful country. Not only did the king and queen lived happily ever after, the only one not getting that treatment would be the abusers." Lillian giggled to the ending, realizing someone had to pay for hurting the "Mystical Beasts."

"That's a great bedtime story. I'm glad I stayed up until..." With one big yawn, Lillian fell asleep. Ash petted Lillian's hair before stepping out and finding Cornelia and Irma together.

"I didn't know you were a good storyteller," Irma complimented. "I bet that was something from that Pokémon world, right?" Ash nodded to the suspicion.

"I had to think of something without saying Pokémon," he admitted. "And the story didn't have the happy ending that I described." This surprised the girls. "Sir Aaron did protect Queen Rin in the Cameran Palace, and he did go to the Tree of Beginning, but he did it alone." The two looked at each other, thinking what he said was a lie.

"I think Elyon and the others will need to hear this," Cornelia suggested. The three returned to the living room where the guardians, Caleb and Matt hung around.

"Is the princess tucked in bed?" asked Caleb.

"Sleeping like a baby, or like Ash this morning," Irma teased. "His story was a good bedtime tale but there's some truth that needs to come out." Ash explained most of the story similar to Lillian's take.

"After Sir Aaron locked Lucario in the scepter," he started. "He had entered the Tree of Beginning and used his aura to heal Mew. It ended up as a sacrifice as he turned to crystal. A thousand years later, I was at that same palace and wore the same outfit Sir Aaron did, and won the Palace Tournament. I held the staff and somehow, the aura in me activated the staff and I released Lucario. This was after Mew had taken Pikachu to the Tree of Beginning and Mew was in need of care again. I tried to help out but Lucario used his aura and joined Sir Aaron in crystal." The queen and the guardians looked on in awe from the explanation.

"Aura, huh?" sensed Napoleon. "That sounds familiar." Everyone else glanced to the Hale's cat.

"Something you wanna tell us, Napoleon?" questioned Hay Lin. Napoleon tried to think back but information appeared fuzzy.

"I may need a trip to Kandrakar for this Sir Aaron. Will, think you can give me that ride?"

"In a flash," Will accepted. While that discussion occurred, Taranee found a catalog on the coffee table. The headline on it read "SPRING BLOWOUT SALE."

"Looks like I found something we can do tomorrow as a group," she announced. "There's a sale at the mall! I can't be the only one who needs a new line of clothes, and it's a great opportunity to bring along Eric and Nigel." The girls agreed to the idea. Hay Lin had one other item on topic.

"Anyway, is it possible, Ash?" she asked as she held Ash's hands. "Can I take care of Pikachu tonight? Please? Pretty please?" Feeling like saying no would not be enough, Ash surrendered to Hay Lin's request.

"Okay!" he replied. The accepted reply made Hay Lin hug Ash and carry him into the ceiling.

"Thank you! I'll make sure he's okay!" That's when Ash saw how close he was to the ceiling, not appreciating the height.

"What about us?!" Hay Lin blinked before looking down.

"Oops..." She descended with Ash before relaxing. To Ash, this was a first time he witnessed the guardians' powers. Hay Lin scooped up Pikachu before he crawled onto her shoulder.

"So the forms you take as guardians is not just for show?"

"Not really," Taranee wanted to correct. "We can do powers as guardians or as ourselves right now." To demonstrate, Taranee flicked a flame on her finger.

"So is Taranee the Torch inappropriate?" Taranee laughed to the nickname, shaking her head.

"Irma can control water, Taranee's got the fire, Cornelia works with the earth and Hay Lin commands the air," Will listed. Even Pikachu awed the abilities… when they never heard about Will's.

"What about you?"

"Apparently, she's got my mother's element: Quintessence," Caleb answered.

"One of the abilities is electricity," she mentioned before a stray bolt of lightning shot out at Pikachu. He couldn't move fast and got blasted to the floor from Hay Lin's shoulder. Will gasped, hands in front of her mouth. The girls gasped in horror, fearing Pikachu would be hurt. Will dashed over to Pikachu as he started to stir. "I'm so sorry, Pikachu! I didn't mean-" Pikachu waived it off, not hurt by the jolt. "You're okay?"

("It didn't hurt at all!") he squeaked. Ash decided to explain as Cornelia, showing some concern, came to see Pikachu's condition.

"Pikachu's an Electric Pokémon," he explained. "And attacks with electricity don't hurt my friend." Cornelia sighed in relief as Will hugged Pikachu, still guilty for the incident.

"Well, that crisis is one we didn't need," Cornelia huffed. "Let's get some rest for tomorrow's little trip to the mall." This dismissed the guardians as everyone but Caleb and Elyon departed. Watching Cornelia shake her head after everyone left made Elyon wonder.

"Is there a problem with Pikachu?" she asked. Cornelia turned to the queen with a deadpan face.

"After Mister Huggles, I didn't want to see another mouse of any kind." The excuse risen Elyon's eyebrow. However, she chose not to question further. Tomorrow, it's a trip to the mall.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	5. Is That Mall You Got!

_Chapter 5: Is That Mall You Got?!_

* * *

Hay Lin, Cornelia, Elyon and Caleb came over to the Silver Dragon with Pikachu in Hay Lin's arms. The restaurant from the inside with the many tables, chairs and booths wasn't open. ("Nice restaurant,") Pikachu squeaked.

"I don't know if mice or Pokémon or whatever have tried Chinese food," Elyon wondered.

"That's something I'd like to see," Caleb laughed. They entered the kitchen when they found two Yan Lins setting up the place with a couple of other employees. This greatly confused the Electric Mouse.

"Hey, Grandma!" called Hay Lin. One Yan Lin, wearing the green robe compared to the other wearing yellow, came to see Hay Lin.

"Good morning, granddaughter," she greeted. "And I see you brought Pikachu along."

"We did so that we could drop him off to let us go to the mall with the others," Elyon informed. "So, Mira's helping you out as well?"

"Yes, my doppelganger wanted to see the boy you brought from Meridian, too. I guess she'll be fine with the Pokémon." Mira turned to the others, somewhat upset.

"Yan, I'd rather not be called a doppelganger," she insisted. "That's not to say it isn't true that I was created by Nerissa."

"Then how would I prefer you as? A clone? A duplicate?"

"Anything but doppelganger." Pikachu still felt lost. Mira scoped Pikachu out. "So, this is the mouse that caused the ruckus sometime ago?" The guardians and Yan Lin shook to the accusation.

"Pikachu wasn't here when Matt's dormouse caused the havoc," Hay Lin clarified. "He's actually well-behaved compared to Mister Huggles." To Yan Lin, it's her judgment.

"Well, if he does behave, I may offer him some orange sauce to try," she promised. Elyon took Pikachu from Hay Lin's arms.

"We'll make sure Ash is okay, Pikachu," she assured. "Promise not to make a mess?"

("I'll stay out of the way,") Pikachu squeaked with a peace sign.

"Okay!" Hoping to seal the promise, Elyon gave Pikachu a smooch to the cheek. The Pokémon let out a huge squeal. Elyon and Hay Lin chimed awes to the squeal. Cornelia cringed, trying to hide any emotion.

"We'll see you later, little guy!" waived Caleb. Pikachu waived to his human friends as they departed. At the mall, the other guardians waited by the front doors for their friends. They had company: one young man standing by Taranee was a brunette wearing an open green jacket over a purple t-shirt and slacks. The other young man had navy hair and wore a red t-shirt with gray sleeves. There was a banner above the doors of the mall.

"SPRING BREAK CLEARANCE SALE – VARIOUS STORES WITH DISCOUNTS UP TO 75%"

Arriving, Hay Lin, Cornelia, Elyon and Caleb waived to meet. "Eric, you made it!" shouted Hay Lin while dashing to meet the navy-haired young man.

"There's my girl!" he replied before both hugged. "I've been wondering what's happened over the past few days." The brunette apparently also heard details.

"Yeah, you said you have a new buddy along," he mentioned. "I hope either one of you isn't ditching Eric or Caleb."

"Nigel, relax," Caleb reassured. "When Matt gets here, you'll meet him… and it seems someone can't wait." All turned to a nervous Irma, ready to burst in anticipation.

"That may be an understatement," Will gulped. "Since seeing Ash, she's been gradually having a hard time trying to hold back." As Will explained, Irma looked the nervous wreck.

"Am I wearing the right clothes?!" she asked herself in a panic. "Maybe he doesn't prefer skirts. I mean, I'm wearing biker shorts underneath to make sure…" Dusting herself off, she turned to her friends. "How do I look?"

"Boystruck!" the girls replied. Hearing many voices, Irma grew annoyed.

"Hey, one reply! I don't need the entire peanut gallery for this!" To Cornelia, it's a scene she's seen before.

"Boystruck!" she repeated.

"Thanks, Cornelia-" Realizing that it's the exact same answer, she became more bothered. "Hey!"

"You wanted one reply, and I gave it to you!"

"Well, get yourself calm, Irma!" announced Will. "Here he comes!" Matt and Ash arrived at the mall where the taller young man met up with and kiss Will.

"Morning, Will," he welcomed. Ash ignored the love Matt offered to Will and came to see Elyon and Caleb.

"Pikachu's okay with Yan?" he wondered.

"Little guy should be fine as long as Blunk doesn't make any moves to eat him," Caleb promised.

"And after learning about Pikachu's affinity of Electricity from Cornelia," Elyon added. "I doubt that Passling will have Pikachu for lunch." Ash wanted to believe the Meridian queen and her guard. Irma, Nigel and Eric came over to meet Ash.

"I wanted to do this for a while," she urged as she hugged Ash. The young man felt the wrapping, chuckling a little.

"Okay, Irma," he scoffed. Nigel and Eric seemed interested to the new boy.

"So, he's the new catch among you guys?" questioned Eric. Hay Lin decided to introduce the pair.

"Don't worry, Eric," she started. "Ash Ketchum came over to town a few days ago. Ash, this is my boyfriend, Eric Lyndon." Ash and Eric shook hands.

"Ash, right? I want to say that if anything happened to me that you'd help Hay Lin and her grandma through."

"Let's not cross that bridge right now," Ash gulped. Nigel stood next.

"You might be fun to have around," he surveyed while offering his hand for a shake. "I'm Nigel Ashcroft, Taranee's boyfriend." Ash accepted the handshake.

"Nice to meet you." Just as their hands broke, someone else came to the scene.

"Elyon!" called a reddish-brunette teen girl. She dashed to Elyon wearing a green hoodie and brown trousers. She hugged the Meridian queen.

"Hey, Alchemy," Elyon called.

"Man, where have you been? On vacation in Honolulu?"

"I just needed some time away from Heatherfield. Looks like you got some shopping done." Alchemy chuckled while holding up a pair of large bags.

"Yeah, well… Can't pass up a sale like this, especially after that long winter." That's when she saw Ash, an interest in mind. "Who do we have here?" Hay Lin continued her role as inductee.

"Alchemy, this is Ash," she presented. "He's here on vacation from his home." Ash came over to shake her hand.

"It's nice to meet you," he greeted. Alchemy accepted the handshake.

"Likewise," she replied. "I doubt you're giving Elyon trouble." Ash and Elyon giggled to the belief.

"Trust me," she waived off. "He's not."

"Alright then…" That's when she wrapped her arm around the queen's head to whisper. Irma lent her ear on what Alchemy had to say. "By the way, a guy this cute should be protected. Trust me, there are teenagers inside who will abandon their boyfriends for him. Think of Sondra, reversing the genders." Elyon and Irma nodded as they broke the huddle. "I'll see you guys later." When Alchemy left, Elyon gathered the group and entered. True to Alchemy's word, teenage girls and young women gawked to seeing Ash enter with the young queen, her guardians and their boyfriends.

"New fish in the Heatherfield sea," one girl pointed out.

"A young one and cute," another girl studied.

"Maybe I can have him carry my bags," another girl suggested. About every girl in the mall wanted to follow Ash as he and the boys helped the girls in carrying the purchased items in bag. Ash had to carry Irma's and Elyon's purchases, and none of the boys had a break as they carried heavy bags full of clothes, beauty products, electronics, anything they could see as a bargain. An hour of shopping later, all gathered in the cafeteria. The boys had their arms sprawled on the table.

"I need to workout more often," groaned Nigel.

"That goes double for me," Caleb agreed. "Though, Ash may have needed more hands carrying Elyon's and Irma's purchases."

"I'll say," Eric coughed. "I doubt this was Ash's first time carrying a lot in his arms."

"I'm glad you noticed," Ash scoffed. "It's happened to me before in an event called the Princess Festival." The boys turned heads as Hay Lin returned with sodas for the boys.

"Oh!" she awed. "What is it? I wanna know!" That's when her face cringed and patted her side. Ash nodded, wanting to not mention Pokémon to Nigel and Eric.

"The Princess Festival is kinda like this Spring Sale but the scales much larger. It's a festival where women and girls are given huge discounts and can participate in numerous contests. I was forced with another friend to carry someone's purchases… and man, there was a lot she bought." To Hay Lin and the boys, Ash has a girlfriend.

"Wait, you mean to tell me that you have someone waiting back home?" questioned Matt.

"No, she was with me until I replaced her bike that I broke in a storm to help some... animals to intensive care. I've seen her a couple more times but she doesn't have any feelings for me." Hay Lin sighed in relief.

"I gotta tell Cornelia about this. No way she could pass something like that." When she walked off, the doors flew open. All turned to a young teenage redhead girl in a good amount of makeup. Her hair reached the bottom of her back. The young men grew smitten immediately, the tables turned on the girls now wanting their boyfriends to stay put.

"Is that Sondra?" one young man asked.

"I knew she couldn't leave us alone!" another young man cheered.

"Over here, Sondra!" another young man called out. Even Caleb, Matt, Nigel and Eric couldn't remove their sight from the redhead. Strangely enough, Ash paid more attention to the bruises on his arms more than the redhead.

"It'll be a while before my arms are back to normal," he gritted as he massaged his sore arms. Two redheads that appeared alike noticed Ash not smitten.

"Courtney, that boy," one redhead motioned to the other. "He's not falling for that former foreign exchange student."

"You're right, Bess," the other redhead noted. "I gotta get a scoop of this!" Sondra noticed Ash as he scanned the young men dripping saliva from their gawking mouths and some their tongues sticking out.

"Okay, what's going on?" he asked.

"Vat is going on indeed?" replied Sondra with a Swiss accent. Now the eyes met. Still, nothing triggered with Ash. "I see… You're not one to please with… adoring accents."

"Can't say I am." Looking around, Sondra saw some girls praying for Ash not to fall for Sondra.

"Seems zere's some young ladies who've grown smitten to you… almost ze same rate as ze young men to me." Ash looked around, seeing girls who gazed to him. "Heatherfield seems to appreciate zee foreigners a lot." To Ash, the young girls didn't care that wasn't from the same world he's now apart of.

"I would say that you have no idea… but then again, neither do I."

"Nay, you shouldn't worry zo much. Me, of which many young men adore, and you, of which many young dames admire. Perhaps, we _are_ ze ideal of collection." Sondra reached Ash while the guardians found the two standing almost face to face.

"Oh, great..." Taranee shuttered.

"What's Sondra doing back here?!" growled Cornelia.

"I don't know but I have a bad feeling about it," Elyon gulped. Sondra fingered Ash's face, lining the zigzags below his eyes.

"Such a young, energetic face," she complimented. No wonder ze women around here zee you for who you are." That's when she edged her face towards his. "A wild man for sure." Ash's ears picked up something from her lips: English. Her lips were just about to touch his cheek, centimeters close…

"So that's who you are," he concluded. Sondra turned to Ash, wanting to know his thought. "You should know that pretenders are not welcomed in my book of friends." Ash leaned and stepped back, distancing from her head.

"Pre… Pretender?" Sondra's English echoed briefly.

"If you have the accent, you must know the language. Otherwise, you're not who you say you are. No es tan difícil de entender." The girls gawked at the change of tongue from Ash.

"He knows Spanish?" another girl awed.

"He's gotta be visiting from Florida," another girl assumed. "Key West? Tampa?"

"Maybe from southern California?" yet another girl guessed. "San Diego? LA?" Sondra stood aghast to Ash's rejection.

"I also know you're hanging out with those girls who ruined me in," she came back. "So I don't know the language Switzerland has, so what? I'm a better fit than those six."

"You're actually proving my point," Ash retorted with a grit on his face. "It's one thing to have an accent to a language you don't know a word about, but you go a step further by insulting friends, even new ones I just met. Take this to heart: lárgate de mi cara, Queso Suizo Apestoso!" Sondra blinked in confusion. It was more Spanish.

"What? In English, please!"

"Get out of my face, Smelly Swiss Cheese!" Sondra gasped to the rejection, stumbling to the ground. Some of the young men came to her aid as Ash turned on the phony, much to the amazement of Elyon and the guardians. "Adios." He began to walk from the pool of men and Sondra with a confident smirk. 'That was dramatic. Never felt so good letting that off my chest.' Unfortunately for him, the girls took the dismissal on Sondra as an opportunity to take him.

"That was amazing," Courtney awed with Bess by her side. "Someone as cool and cute as you doesn't need her around."

"And your Spanish is overwhelming," Bess added. "I just about fell in love for you." Ash scoffed to the compliments by the two redheads.

"I got upset," he admitted. The guardians wanted to step in at the sight of the two redheads.

"Not the Grumper sisters!" yelped Cornelia. "Back away!" Before Ash could respond to the blond, other girls floundered around Ash. The young women wanted every piece of Ash, regardless of the character he displayed. They flirted, teased, tickled his arms, massaged his face and hair. Ash felt cornered and spotted someone. He found a young and tall navy-haired, heavily-tanned man with a slim but muscular body. His hair was in a ponytail and he wore an orange spring jacket.

"Come on, everyone," he shyly gulped at the crowd, nearly suffocating from the press. "I can't be that cute for everyone. That guy right there would be a better idea." Some of the girls turned to the guy he pointed out, even the guardians. Taranee gasped to who.

"Peter, what are you doing here?" she asked. Peter reached the guardians but to Taranee.

"Heard a commotion over here, sis," he explained. "Couldn't help it." The girls scoffed and giggled to the attempt at diverting attention.

"Cute, funny _and_ modest," a girl from earlier awed. "He's perfect!" Another girl jumped on Ash's back with her arms around his neck.

"I can take him home," she claimed as she kissed him on the cheek.

"No fair!" one more girl complained. "I saw him first!"

"Big deal, I _kissed_ him first!"

"Oh yeah?" The mob of the girls descended on him harder. To Irma, the sight boiled her blood.

' _Leave him alone,'_ she minded. Ash began to drown in the pond of girls. _'Leave him alone!'_ He needed help fast. _'LEAVE HIM ALONE!'_ That's when everyone stopped while Irma cringed, focused mentally on wishing for the girls to stop hounding Ash. Everyone calmed down.

"You know what?" the first girl realized. "Let's leave him alone."

"Yeah, you're right," the second girl agreed. "We were rude to the dude."

"And he's still new around here," the last girl added. Ash came out, some makeup on his face. He looked on, rather confused and stunned. The first girl patted Ash on the shoulder and straightened his sweat-tee.

"We're sorry about that," she apologized. "We lost our composure. We'll let you relax, okay?"

"Sure," Ash replied with some hint of befuddlement. The girls began to walk away as Cornelia and Taranee reached Ash with a handkerchief.

"You good?" she asked as she started cleaning Ash's face.

"Yeah, what happened?" Just as Cornelia removed the lipstick on his face, Ash saw Irma wobbling, her hand on her forehead. She started doubling over, sweat pouring from her face. Ash rushed away to Irma on the cusp of passing out. "Irma!" He caught her with his body, her head now on his shoulder. "Gotcha!" Caleb and Matt also came to Irma's aid. Irma suddenly noticed who held her up.

' _Oh my goodness!'_ she thought. _'I'm in Ash's arms! I can't believe my luck!'_ Irma wrapped her arms around Ash, embracing his still sore muscles. "Can I stay in your arms for a while longer? It's comforting..." To Hay Lin and Will, she needed rest… but not on Ash.

"Come on, Irma," Hay Lin denied.

"Off of Ash," Will instructed.

"Yeah, she may need some water," Ash suggested. Nigel offered a chair for Irma to relax in as the guardians placed their partner in the seat. However, the moment wasn't unnoticed.

"Quite a pile you had there, little charmer," a young man's voice rang out. All but Irma turned to three older teen boys holding skateboards. One was a spiky orange-haired wearing a blue football jersey. Another was a husky raven-haired in a gray hoodie. The last was a large, short-haired blond in a jacket over a dog tag.

"Great," Nigel gulped. "Uriah's gang." The orange-haired snarled to Nigel's clamoring.

"Stay out of this. You have nerdy girl to cry to once we teach this new kid a lesson." Cornelia, Peter and Caleb came to Ash's defense.

"Stay out of this, Uriah!" warned Peter. "Ash did nothing to you."

"We know, which is why we're here to offer some Uriah-style advice." Cornelia hissed to Uriah's offer.

"There's already a problem right now," she snapped. "Irma just fainted. She needs space."

"That's not our problem," scoffed the husky raven-haired. "We're here for him." Ash found himself the target of these violators after he scoped a sign that read "NO SKATEBOARDING." He decided to play along.

"Lessons on what, how to skateboard?" he sneered. "Sorry, but I've been working on that as soon as I learned to walk." Uriah gawked to Ash's comeback.

"What are you, dense?" he stammered. "I'm referring to how you got a lot of those girls away from the men, including the one you spat in the face." Ash figured Uriah referred to Sondra.

"Oh yeah… the one who bad-mouthed them… kinda like how you're bad-mouthing Taranee." Peter couldn't believe the lip Ash gave to Uriah and his partners.

"I'd be careful around Uriah, Kurt and Clubber," he whispered. "They're Sheffield Institute's worst. They're bullies."

"So what?" the blond shrugged off. "It's time for his initiation." Uriah craned his head and torso to Ash, trying to intimidate the trainer.

"By the time your lessons are complete, you'll be a little more respectful to me and my crew," he snickered. "Isn't that right, Kurt?" The raven-haired grinned and nodded. "Agree, Clubber?" The blond punched his open hand, cracking knuckles.

"I've got a few lessons of my own," Ash smiled. Out of nowhere, he landed a nasty, snapping right hook to Uriah's jaw. "Lesson One!" All but Irma shrieked to Ash's punch as Uriah staggered from the blow.

"Uriah!" his partners gasped. Uriah rubbed his jaw, making sure it's in place.

"Don't just stand there, you oafs!" he argued. "Get him!" Kurt and Clubber hopped on their boards and chased Ash. Uriah recovered soon enough and joined in the pursuit.

"I can't let those guys hurt Ash!" complained Hay Lin as she wanted to go after the bullies. However, Matt stopped her.

"No one needs to know about your powers," he whispered.

"But-" Meanwhile, Ash dashed forward but saw the three on skateboards. He realized he couldn't outrun them. He searched and found a mop and a bucket of water after a janitor abandoned them to clear from the chase. To Ash, they're what he needed. He dove and grabbed the mop, inadvertently knocking the bucket over to the path of Kurt and Clubber. The water spilled and Uriah's partners skated into the newly made puddle.

"Whoa!" they yelped as they lost traction and spilled on the spill. The two skidded for several feet with Clubber's head in the emptied bucket. Uriah skated around the spill.

"I'm too smart for that!" he exclaimed. Ash turned toward a wall with the mop in hand and used it like in a pole vault event. He scaled up the wall and dashed a few steps before grabbing a rope hanging from the ceiling and swung. Uriah saw the swinging boy coming back in his direction. "That as well!" He pulled back on the skateboard to stop his momentum. However, he stopped with the nose of the board facing up.

"Here's Lesson Two!" grinned Ash as he fell. He landed on the skateboard's nose with a double stomp. Ash's stomp catapulted Uriah through the air and crashed head-first into a garbage can. Bolted, the can stood firm while Uriah fell limp.

"Ouch..." Mall security and a couple of officers in uniform arrived to Uriah's landing, excavating him from a smelly conundrum.

"Weren't you banned from entering the mall, Uriah Dunn?" the burly brunette officer scolded. He applied handcuffs to Uriah's wrists as security cuffed Kurt and Clubber, the latter still wearing the bucket. Elyon, the guardians and the boys arrived to see Uriah's group caught and Ash unharmed. Nigel and Taranee helped Irma, her arms draped around the shoulders for support.

"I guess I'll leave Lesson Three to these guys," he joked. Hay Lin and Will reached Ash first.

"Whoa, Ash!" the redhead laughed as she hugged Ash. "What _can't_ you do?!" Hay Lin playfully slugged Ash with a gentle left hook to his cheek.

"Never saw someone take those three out that quickly!" she giggled before planting a kiss to the same cheek. Will chuckled to Hay Lin's show of affection.

"Okay, that was for stopping those three. Here's for ridding Sondra." She lipped him near the eye, on the zigzag.

"Will… Hay Lin…" he nervously giggled. Cornelia and Elyon joined in with their own hugs after the first broke away.

"That was incredible, Ash!" the queen praised before applying her lips on his eyelid. She backed away for Cornelia.

"You might be making me choose you over Caleb, you awesome rascal!" she teased before kissing him on the forehead. The officer saw Irma and rushed to her side.

"Irma!" he gasped. Reaching, Taranee allowed the officer to treat Irma as she wanted her chance with Ash.

"Dad," Irma weakly muttered.

"Irma, sweetie! Did these boys do this to you?" While Nigel filled Irma's father in on Uriah's involvement, Taranee got some face time.

"I'm starting to know why you're a great trainer, Ash!" she complimented as she tagged him on the other zigzags. Ash seemed to take these kisses in stride. Security took the three in squad cars as Irma's father huddled with Ash.

"Criminal Trespass, Disorderly Conduct, Vandalism…" he listed. "Still, the three are minors. I'm sure long hours of Community Service should straighten them."

"I doubt it," Irma huffed. "They've been punished before and haven't changed ." Ash came to Irma, still concerned with her condition.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I just need some rest." Ash nodded, still seeing Irma's pale face. The officer had more to tell the trainer.

"Ash, thanks for making sure my daughter wasn't harmed by those hooligans," he praised.

"No problem, Officer Lair," he accepted.

"You can call me Tom. I'll carry the merchandise and Irma back home before resuming my shift. I bet she got some for her brother, Chris." Irma giggled to her father's belief.

"Don't forget you and mom as well," she added. Tom and Irma packed the paid items into the squad car and peeled out. Hay Lin came over to Ash after the car exited the parking lot.

"I'm gonna head back for Pikachu and call it a night," she whispered, not trying to let Eric in. Ash bobbed a nod.

"It was nice meeting you, Ash," Eric said.

"Same here, Eric!" replied Ash. Nigel and Ash also said their farewells before he escorted Taranee away. That's when Ash turned to the ones who knew Irma well without secrets spilled. "So what happened when I was in that pile of girls? I swear that if Brock was in there, he wouldn't want to leave." Will nodded, believing Ash had to know.

"We guardians have secondary abilities besides our elements," she explained. "Irma's got mind control. Though, that was the first time I've seen it used on a scale like that. It's usually one person." Ash gulped, surprised about this ability. "I don't know how you escaped it. Luck?" All Ash could do was shrug his shoulders.

"Will has the ability to communicate with anything that runs on electricity," Cornelia listed. "I have Telekinesis, able to move objects with my mind. Taranee's got Telepathy."

"Okay, Telepathy is what I discovered with Lucario after he appeared from the scepter I held at the palace," Ash remembered. This rose eyebrows.

"Wait... Pokémon can do that?" questioned Matt.

"Some… Mewtwo, Unown, Lucario… Psychic Pokémon are pretty mysterious."

"And scary if not respected," Caleb warned. "Well, lastly, Hay Lin can turn invisible at will." Ash took note of these new abilities.

"Well, let's get back home," Matt suggested. "My arms are killing me… and I can't be the only one." Ash bobbed to the idea. They headed back to their places with Elyon and Caleb joining Cornelia. Meanwhile in a cabin from the city was a orange-haired young woman relaxing on a rocking chair. That's when the veil opened. Out came an older blond woman in a sky blue robe.

"Halinor?" she named.

"Cassidy, it seems revival by Nerissa has given you new meaning," Halinor greeted. "Anyway, my visit is about a disturbance reported on Earth. The Heart of Earth on the discovery." To Cassidy, this was a task given.

"Are you asking me to investigate it?"

"I wouldn't come all this way for this task. Apparently, the current guardians are watching over the discovery." As Cassidy listened in, the night came about. What could come next for the trainer and the Pokémon?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...

(Okay, you have voted over the past few months. After the invites are done, the next story will be with RWBY.)


	6. Mum's the Board

_Chapter 6: Mum's the Board_

* * *

A day after the chaos at the mall, Ash, Pikachu, Elyon, Caleb, Matt and the guardians in their outfits arrived back at Elyon's castle. Raythor met the group first. "We've found the individual responsible for the rally," he reported. "Many sources corralled the man that started the call for a coup on you. He'll be held in the dungeon on conspiracy crimes." Elyon accepted Raythor's report.

"Thank you, Raythor," she praised. Raythorn bowed before leaving.

"Well, I guess that's one crisis down," Matt surveyed. "At least Elyon doesn't have to worry about anyone breaking the bad bro from containment." Elyon came over to Ash but hoisted Pikachu instead.

"You know, after I heard what Blunk tried to do, I wanna make sure you're okay," she cooed. "At least he won't try to eat you again, or splash you with spoiled orange sauce." Pikachu squeaked in awe to the caring of the queen. "Besides, I got a little something for your good behavior." Pikachu could only wonder what it would be. "Since I know how you like being outside so often, I got this!" Elyon presented was a black wool cap with holes cut for Pikachu's ears. The cap fit Pikachu perfectly. "You like? It'll be useful when winter comes around!" Pikachu let out a huge chime. Aside from Cornelia, the other guardians awed Pikachu's chime and new look.

"Honestly, what's with you?" she snapped. Caleb heard his girlfriend and jumped.

"Cornelia, what's with you?" he wondered. Cornelia's cringe couldn't be more noticed.

"This rodent! What's the big deal with Pikachu?" Ash stood next to Elyon and the target of Cornelia's complaints. "He's just a little yellow rodent from a different world with that lightning bolt for a tail..." Suddenly, their eyes met. Cornelia trembled and started losing composure. "And th-those red cheeks and chocolate eyes and… and..." Pikachu raced to Elyon's head to get a better view of Cornelia's sudden struggle. "And… and..." At her wit's end, she zipped to Elyon and snatched Pikachu to embrace in a hug. "A TOTAL CUTIE-PIE! I can't let you go!" Pikachu chimed once more as he finally received love from the lone guardian yet to offer it.

"I had a feeling she'd eventually cave to Pikachu's cuteness," Elyon sneered. Deciding to go to the lesson, everyone stepped outside. Ash released his Pokémon once again. Those inside, even Raythor, wanted to know the ordeal with his world of Pokémon.

"Learning about you five, I can tell there's a Pokémon that would correspond with your elements and your other talents. There are 17 different types of Pokémon and some that are dual-types." Hearing that information, Hay Lin wanted to ask.

"Dual-types?" she repeated. "So, there could be one that's an Electric Pokémon like Pikachu but can fly?"

"Absolutely, though it is one of the legendary Pokémon, Zapdos." This prompted Ash to recall the item on his person. "Yeah, my PokéDex." He pulled out the hand-held and handed it to Will.

"So, what does Zapdos look like?" That's when a picture emerged of a yellow avian with spiky wings and tail with a long beak.

"Zapdos, the Electric Pokémon," it computed. "Zapdos is a legendary Pokémon that will appear from clouds to emit massive lightning." Will and Irma were rather intimidated with the look.

"That's one savage bird," she gulped. Will bobbed a nod in agreement.

"What about any Fire Pokémon that don't have any pet dander?" wondered Taranee.

"There are a few like Magby and Slugma," Ash listed. "Heck, one that would work is Torkoal. Too bad I left it in Professor Oak's ranch." Taranee pointed to Will to check on Ash's Dex by forming a T with her hands. Figuring which Pokémon she tried to refer to, Will turned to the Dex.

"Torkoal in there?" she asked. A red turtle with a charcoal shell emerged on the screen.

"Torkoal, the Coal Pokémon," it computed. "To confuse enemies, Torkoal emits smoke from its shell and nostrils." Taranee nodded, liking the idea.

"Sorry to break into this lesson but… what other forms of Pikachu are there?" Ash seemed startled with the question.

"Well… there are," he stuttered. Before Ash could explain, his Dex started up.

"Pichu, the Tiny Mouse Pokémon," the device recorded. "Unlike its evolved form of Pikachu, Pichu's electric sacs have yet to develop and will shock themselves." Elyon and the guardians shared a collective awe to the sight of the creature.

"That's so adorable!" cooed Cornelia. Will snatched Pikachu from Elyon's shoulder.

"I can't believe you're more adorable in this form," she chirped in glee as she rubbed cheek-to-cheek with the Pokémon. "It's no wonder Ash couldn't let you go!" The others joined in, much to Ash's concern.

"Not so much!" he warned. All of the guardians ignored Ash, constantly smothering Pikachu. Enough, he emitted a massive blast of electricity, shocking the guardians. After a few seconds, Pikachu stopped and the guardians fell. Elyon gulped to the electric output.

"I believe there's a proverb that explains this situation," Raythor grunted. "The cornered rat will bite the cat." While Ash agreed to the proverb, Pikachu snapped at Elyon's soldier.

("Would you _not_ call me a rat?") he squeaked. Even though the tongue wasn't the same, Raythor understood Pikachu's frustration.

"I'm simply implying a statement." Once the girls recovered, Ash began his showcase of what his Pokémon could do. He also had his Pokémon square off with each other.

"Swellow, here it comes!" he warned the swallow. He turned to the gecko. "Grovyle, Bullet Seed!" The gecko began spitting seeds in a rapid pace. Swellow flew around the ground-to-air strike. "Swellow, do an Aerial Ace! And Grovyle, you use Leaf Blade!" Swellow performed a flip in the air as the leaves on Grovyle's wrists grew and became glowing green elbow blades. Cornelia gawked to Grovyle's new weapons.

"Whoa..." she gulped. Swellow flew toward the ground before turning at the last second to face Grovyle who slashed, but Swellow vanished and struck Grovyle. After going down for a minute, the gecko rose back up to see Swellow with a flick of a thumb up. Hay Lin emerged after seeing the Aerial Ace hit.

"So that's how the attack works," she awed to Swellow. "You've got a pretty strong strike." Swellow cawed in delight. Meanwhile, Taranee and Charizard competed in a firing struggle. Taranee's flame from her palms started losing strength against Charizard's flame he breathed. The two stopped their flames, spent.

"I think I know why you're so strong, big guy!" she huffed. Irma came back with the crayfish as Will and Elyon returned with Pikachu.

"Ash, your Corphish is tough," Irma complimented. Corphish cawed in delight. "Perhaps I should ask what your secret is? You know, how your Pokémon are this good?"

"It's not much of a secret, Irma," Ash responded. "It's kinda like Matt with Mister Huggles, loving and caring for Pokémon is the key essential in raising them. The more you work with the Pokémon, the closer you are." Even Matt understood Ash's success as a trainer as the Pokémon sided with their master. Ash knelt and petted the baby elephant who enjoyed it.

"That's easy to know," Will chuckled. "After all, I help out at the local pet store. It's also where I gave Lillian her Napoleon. Still, I have trouble believing what he looks like when he, Mister Huggles and Matt transform." Ash blinked, a ponder to Will's word.

"How so?" Turning to the subject, Matt closed his eyes and began to concentrate. In a flash, Matt looked new in so many ways: taller, muscular and wore a gold mask and an open green shirt.

"Like this," he presented. "In this form, I'm Shagon. Nerissa gave this to me and it kinda backfired. Not to mention Mister Huggles and Napoleon also have it." Ash awed Matt's transformation.

"Nice… You look strong in that form." Irma reached Ash's side with something on her mind.

"Then again, I think you're the strong one after yesterday," she sneered. "First, dismissing Sondra and then dispatching Uriah's gang..." To Ash, it wasn't a moment he should be proud of.

"It's not a big deal. Uriah, Kurt and Clubber, I wanted to teach them a few lessons and Sondra, you guys deserved better than what she lipped off. Besides, after learning about what else you could do, I wanted to thank you for getting me out of that mob." Raythor felt proud of Ash's ability to protect the guardians' dignities.

"I swear, Ash is a young man of loyalty, not just to her highness but to the guardians as well," he grinned. Elyon, Caleb and Matt agreed to a former supporter of Phobos.

"Speaking of lip..." giggled Irma before she kissed Ash on the lips. Cornelia, Will and the Pokémon gasped to the sudden smooch. The baby elephant and Pikachu recovered and enjoyed the scene.

"I think Andrew Hornby might be looking for someone else," Will gawked. Surprisingly, Irma removed her lips and aimed for more.

"That was for Sondra." She kissed Ash again. This left the other guardians in shock and even Pikachu feared for his friend's life.

"That's the first time someone mentioned 'Andrew Hornby' and she doesn't react to it," Hay Lin irked. Irma broke away from his lips again.

"That was for Uriah." Before she got more of Ash, Caleb decided to stop the romance.

"Okay, you can have more after Matt and I show Ash a past time in Meridian," he suggested. "And from when you started talking back at Uriah, I think you'd be a natural at Mumboarding." Ash blinked at the thought as Matt reverted to normal.

"Mumboarding?" he repeated. Quickly, he nodded. "Trust me, give me a board to ride on and I'll show you how I move." Getting help from the guardians and Charizard, the boys grabbed snowboards. All three took off from the top of a muddy mountainside with Caleb leading the three. To Ash, he seemed to have complete control and soon boarded ahead of everyone as Pikachu cheered on like Ash was in a race. Soon enough, they reached the bottom where Caleb and Matt awed his boarding.

"Whew, you _are_ a natural! Any kind of board you ride on like a skateboard or snowboard, you've got what it takes." Ash scoffed as Will, Irma, Cornelia and Charizard descended.

"Yeah, if you guys were around Eggseter in Johto," he bragged. "You would've seen me and Bayleef win the Extreme Pokémon Race involving skateboards." Matt chortled to the win as he wiped sweat.

"Anyway, why don't you guys freshen up," Cornelia mentioned.

"The three of you are dripping," Will pointed out. The boys agreed and entered a tent. Matt had a duffel bag with towels as they removed their shirts. Unable to resist, the guardians and Elyon saw through the entrance.

"I want to ask you about beforehand," Matt spoke. Seeing Matt's bare chest and torso, Will whistled to the view.

"Find me a beach with him," she whispered. "We'd never leave."

"Are you referring to Irma's smothering?" guessed Caleb. Seeing Caleb's bare top, Cornelia had a difficult time holding back.

"Just once, I wanna treat Caleb's body just to know how it feels," she nearly squealed.

"Yeah, it just came to mind before we started downhill," Matt replied. "Have you been kissed like that before?"

"Not on the lips," Ash corrected. "Only on the cheek. First one was on Shamouti Island as a 'Welcome Kiss' by the Island Festival Madien and the second on Altomare in Johto. I still don't know if it was that local girl, Bianca, or her Pokémon friend, Latias, that did the deed." Seeing a rather muscular torso on Ash, Irma and Elyon seemed drawn toward the tent.

"Oh my goodness," the queen hummed. "That's a young and firm bod."

"I want it..." she gawked, unaware she flew toward the opening. "I want it..." Taranee and Hay Lin stopped Irma before she barged in.

"Don't!" the two snapped before dragging Irma away. The other guardians flew off before the boys had a clue of their peepers. Pikachu regrouped on Ash's shoulder.

"Okay, now that we've dried up, let's get to work," Caleb ordered. Ash and Matt nodded, training coming on their minds. However, they didn't begin soon enough.

"Training months after the struggle with Nerissa?" a man asked. All turned to a brunette man with a full beard and mustache, the mouth hidden within. The boys turned to the man.

"Father, is something wrong?"

"No, though I think offering training after the fiasco of Nerissa and Phobos is rather unnecessary." Turning to Ash, the father seemed interested. "Who would this be?" Matt chose to introduce Ash to the new man.

"Julian, this is Ash Ketchum," he pointed. "He's a Pokémon Trainer visiting from another world. Pikachu's the one on his shoulder." Julian itched Pikachu's ears to the mouse's delight.

"A fine specimen. I would like to learn more about this one. Your father must be proud of how you've performed." Ash gasped to the question before darting his head away. Watching from afar, Irma saw a new side of Ash, one she wouldn't expect. "What is it?" Caleb and Matt grew concern to this look on Ash.

"I… haven't seen my dad for a long time," he admitted. "Heck, I don't remember the last time I've seen him… and it doesn't help that my home doesn't have a picture of him..." Irma gasped to the confession.

"Dude, that's not right," Matt gulped. "And you don't have an idea what happened?" Ash shook his head.

"I'm sorry," Julian apologized. "I didn't mean to be insensitive."

"No, it's..." hesitated Ash. "It's not a big deal. I'm doing fine with Pikachu and all the Pokémon I have." Irma flew back to tell the others about Ash's family, or lack thereof.

"So, it's just you and your mother at home?" wondered Caleb. Ash nodded to the question. Julian placed a hand on Ash's other shoulder.

"Knowing that you have a parent that cares about you is a good thing," he expressed. Ash nodded to the relief.

"Thanks..." Relief found, Caleb decided to return to training.

"Okay..." he voiced. "Ready to go?" Ash nodded as Pikachu hopped from his trainer to Julian. As they trained, an unusual odor filled the air.

"What's that smell?" asked Ash. Others sniffed, not detecting smoke.

"Orange sauce?" studied Matt. The guess gave Caleb and Pikachu an idea who it would be.

"I smell it from over there," Julian determined. The boys followed Caleb's father to the guardians.

"I find it hard to believe Ash doesn't have a dad," Will muttered.

"Yeah, I wouldn't have suspected him to be raised by an only parent like you, Will," Hay Lin pointed out. "Though, your mom's dating one of our teachers so it's not as bad as it would be."

"Still, this is someone who's talented," Taranee brought up. "I wanna ask about his mom."

"Or if he had other siblings, considering the warm welcome Lillian gave," Cornelia thought. Right by Taranee's ear…

"Ahem!" grunted Ash. The guardians heard and jumped at the trainer's arrival.

"Ash!" hiccuped Elyon. "So, I guess… you heard us about you having no dad." Ash slowly fluffed a nod.

"I get that you're worried about me, but like I told Julian, I'm doing just fine with just mom and myself… and I do have my Pokémon at all times."

"Sure, but still," Will tried to explain. "We can't help but feel terrible about it, me in particular. I live with my mom after she and my dad split."

"Learning that you've had no fatherly figure before you became a trainer," Cornelia added her take. "It's amazing how you've been such a strong kid." To Ash, their concerns were understandable.

"You guys..." he softly chuckled. Elyon and the guardians gathered around and hugged Ash. "Thanks…" Breaking the hug, Cornelia had a request.

"Ash, I know it's a bit soon to ask this," she started. "But can I watch Pikachu tonight?" Ash seemed dumbfounded with Cornelia's proposal.

"Tonight?" Cornelia's eyes ballooned, trying to have Ash accept. Unable to go against a guardian, he caved. "Sure! I'm sure Pikachu wouldn't mind." Cornelia hugged Ash, her wish granted.

"Thank you, oh, thank you!" Pikachu leaped into Cornelia's arms. After a day in Meridian, it's time to head back.

"I think we had a good time learning about Pokémon," Will sighed as Ash returned his Pokémon. "Let's head home for supper. I bet we're all starving. Everyone, including Julian agreed.

"You are more than welcome to be within the queen's castle," Raythor offered.

"Thank you," Julian accepted. "I'll take you on your offer." With Elyon returning to her kingdom, the guardians and the boys headed back with Will tearing a hole and everyone leaping through. Back in Heatherfield, there was someone lying in wait.

"Guardians!" sounded a woman. All turned to find Cassidy arriving.

"Hey, Cassidy!" greeted Will. Ash came forward to see the new redhead.

"Not the same Cassidy I've met a few times," he pointed out.

"Yeah, well… Cassidy is a former guardian. Nerissa revived her in order to fight us, but now we're on equal terms." Cassidy saw Ash and approached.

"So, you're the boy that Halinor brought up, the one hanging out with the guardians," she presumed as she studied him.

"Wait, what does Kandrakar want with Ash?" questioned Irma.

"The council felt a tremendous energy and learning about how you arrived in Meridian, Halinor asked me to find you and bring you to meet her." This made everyone skeptical.

"I know it sounds important," Hay Lin figured. "But can we do it tomorrow? We're all rather hungry and tired after today."

"Of course. I'll make sure to see you before we head to see Halinor and the Oracle." Now Ash began to wonder what Kandrakar wanted with him. What secret lurked that he was involved?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED…

PS: Happy Easter


	7. Running an Aaron

_Chapter 7: Running an Aaron_

* * *

Cornelia and Pikachu stepped in the elevator after meeting with Cassidy who wanted the guardians and Ash to join in their trip to see the council on Kandrakar. "I have a funny feeling as to how Cassidy, or rather Halinor knew of Ash," she speculated.

("Someone you know?") guessed the mouse. Arriving at her floor, the elevator door opened and both stepped off before entering the apartment.

"Cornelia, dear," a man called. Cornelia turned to find a blond mustached man on a recliner. "Welcome home! I wanted to question you on something about Lillian." Cornelia rose an eyebrow.

"What about it, Dad?" she questioned.

"Well, Lillian's been stammering away about someone you invited over to give her a bedtime story." It dawned on the teenager that she referred to Ash's tale of Sir Aaron. "It must have been a great bedtime tale for her to act this worked up." Nervous, Cornelia laughed to her mother's information.

"Yeah, I heard Ash's story he gave to Lillian. I was… pretty impressed with it myself." _'Though what really happened wasn't as cute.'_ The father listened to the name, intrigued to learn of it herself.

"Ash, is it? Well, since you know him, maybe I can have a chance to meet him myself." Cornelia gulped to the idea of her father seeing someone like Ash. Pikachu remained out of sight for the most part as Napoleon motioned to the Pokémon to enter a bedroom. Ducking behind the door, the cat and the mouse were in private.

"Looks like Cornelia's finally accepted you," Napoleon studied.

("Yeah, I didn't think it would happen,") Pikachu squeaked.

"When she told me about how your partner shooed off that one girl, then trashed a few bullies- one literally, Ash is indeed something else." Pikachu blinked to Napoleon's understanding. Suddenly…

"Napoleon?" echoed Lillian. Napoleon nodded to Pikachu before walking around the door and mewing like a cat. "Did Cornelia leave catnip in her room? Not fair!" Pikachu itched his head after sniffing around, sensing nothing. Cornelia entered after, wearing a silky white nightgown.

"I'm still in some shock that Ash doesn't have a picture about his dad," she remembered as she lifted the Electric Mouse. "Makes me wonder what kind of mom raised him to have that kind of electric personality. No pun intended." Pikachu giggled to Cornelia's puns. "This will be the first time I cuddled with someone or something in a long time. I wonder if there's a Pokémon that would fit me? Phanpy's cute and Grovyle's cool, but maybe something in between..." She soon drifted off to sleep before Pikachu joined. The next day, everyone met in a park which Cassidy arraigned to meet. Ash brought out a picture of a rather young brunette woman in a pink blouse and jeans. She wore a white summer straw hat while attending to vegetables.

"That's your mom?!" gawked Irma. The guardians and Elyon awed her photo.

"Either she's that young or she's got the best anti-aging products that I want to get my mom," Will joked.

"I've taken some of her wild behavior," Ash admitted. "She's as adventurous as I am before she was pregnant with me." To Taranee, an old adage popped in her mind.

"I've heard of 'Like Father, Like Son'," she pointed out. "Not 'Mother'." Soon enough, Caleb, Cornelia and Pikachu reached the group.

"What's everyone looking at?" she asked. Hay Lin grabbed the photo and showed it to Cornelia.

"Check it out!" she urged. "It's Ash's mom!" Cornelia took the photo to look at.

"Okay, who _wouldn't_ want to go out with her? I swear Ash, your father left a perfectly good woman." Caleb nodded in agreement.

"If I show this to my dad," he started. "He could forget about Nerissa and want to know of her location. It does help that she's eternally sleeping in the Heart of Meridian after all she did." Cassidy giggled to the grabbed the pendant and held it out.

"Let's transform to make ourselves presentable to the council," she proposed. The glowing pendant began to levitate. "Guardians, unite!" Beams from the pendant shot at the guardians, creating bubbles. They soon morphed into the guardian forms. "The heart!"

"Water!" announced Irma.

"Fire!" called Taranee.

"Earth!" shouted Cornelia.

"Air!" voiced Hay Lin. Transformed, Will opened the veil before it revealed bluish-purple bricks of a castle. Ash blinked to their destination.

"We're going to a castle?" he wondered.

"You'll see," Irma nudged. Everyone entered the tear and soon found themselves in a giant castle above the clouds. Waiting for them was Halinor and a silver-haired woman who had the face of a cat. She wore the same robe as Halinor.

"Welcome, guardians," Halinor greeted. "Though, I wasn't expecting Nerissa's son to join." Caleb dismissed Halinor's surprise.

"I came on my own terms," he claimed before turning to Ash. "However, he's the one you wanted, right?" Halinor glanced to Ash who stood forward.

"So, this is the storyteller to the one holding the Heart of Earth? I'd imagine him to be a few years older." The cat woman wasn't too eager about Ash.

"Control yourself, Halinor," she calmly snapped. "Anyway, Ash Ketchum, welcome to Kandrakar. My name is Luba. You'll meet a few others like the Oracle." She guided Ash around the castle. At one point, the came across a podium with five colored glowing orbs, four circling one.

"Those are the aurameres. They're the source of the guardians' powers." Ash an Pikachu knew these were dangerous, especially if it meant protecting the guardians. Soon enough, they entered another room. Two men stood, one obviously older than the other. One was white-haired with facial hair similar to Julian but the other was bald with a devil chin and a circular tattoo above an ear. That man came forward to meet Ash.

"Welcome, young visitor," he greeted. "I am the Oracle. I aid the guardians in protecting the universe." In a surprise, Yan emerged from behind a wall to greet the guardians.

"Grandma?!" gawked Hay Lin.

"I'm part of this council as well, Hay Lin," Yan explained. "Even I'm rather curious about this Aaron. I wonder what kind of a wild man he was." Halinor snickered to Yan's fantasy.

"Seems I'm not the only one a little excited about the story," she related.

"Who isn't?!" joked Elyon. "Anyway, Ash… tell them about Aaron like you told the rest of us." Ash explained the tale of Sir Aaron after telling the fantasy to Lillian. The council listened intently and grew curious to the story. Hearing the name of the Pokémon, Will made a request.

"Is Lucario in the Dex's database?" she asked. Ash paused to give the Dex to Will. "Thanks." She opened the Dex. "Search Lucario." The picture of a blue jackal emerged, black fur over his eyes and forehead. It had cream fur for its torso with a spike embedded in, as well as spikes on its paws.

"Lucario, the Aura Pokémon," it registered. "No further data available." Irma came over to see the picture of Lucario."

"A little fierce, per say," she surveyed. "Maybe I could ask Dex if Ash is dating anyone at this time." Will jumped to the question, turning to Irma in shock.

"Irma, this is a hand-held Pokémon encyclopedia!" she snapped. "Not some social networking device. Like it knows if Ash is seeking anyone." Unknowingly, Dex listened.

"While he is traveling with a female companion," it computed. "Ash is not in a relationship whatsoever." Hearing this information, Irma snickered in glee while Will groaned. Luba had questions about Ash's tale.

"What fascinates me is how Lucario mistaken you for Aaron?" she pointed out.

"When he came out of Sir Aaron's scepter, he still couldn't see out of his eyes," he answered. "Instead, he sensed my aura and assumed I was him. He used telepathy on me in asking why I abandoned him. I didn't know at the time what he meant and that's when he did open his eyes." The Oracle pictured the possibility of the error.

"Were you dressed as Aaron at the time?" he asked.

"Yeah, right down to the hat and gloves." The Oracle gave Ash's explanation a mental picture

"Let me see if I can picture Aaron on the wall." A hand wave over the wall, the Oracle created a picture of a grown raven-haired man in a blue suit, blue fedora and white pants. He held a scepter with a sapphire at the head. Elyon and the guardians gawked to the man they're seeing.

"Oh boy!" awed Yan. "That is a fine young man to have around."

"Agreed," the girls gulped with drool falling from their mouths. That's when Luba saw the image.

"Aaron!" she gasped. "How long has it been?" All turned to the cat woman, curiosity in mind.

"I nearly forgot," Yan remembered. "You've been around for many centuries."

"Yes, and I know Aaron. He was a human raised in Meridian, the same as Julian and Caleb. I still remember a thousand years ago when wars waged between worlds. I met young Aaron and sheltered him while battles hit close to his home. That's when I discovered him glowing. I realized that we're near the aurameres upon this and believed he enveloped their essence. I helped summon the guardians at the time, also five girls from Earth and from different continents: Sophie from Europe, Nojiko from Asia, Angina from Austrailia, Imam from northern Africa and Lilly from North America." The names gave Will a chance to give this team a name.

"S.N.A.I.L.?" she abbreviated. "Really?" To Taranee, she saw a little light to the team from a millennium ago.

"Then again, better than C.H.K.Y.N.," she pointed out. Will scoffed in agreement.

"Nojiko had fallen for him, much more than the other guardians," Luba continued. "However, she feared for his safety and asked Sophie for help. She opened the veil and sent Aaron somewhere while the guardians tried to quell the war. We didn't know that he had been sent to the world of Pokémon. Five years later, the guardians found Aaron with a Pokémon that spoke telepathically." Ash had a guess to who Luba referred.

"Lucario," he fitted.

"The same. Their reunion couldn't have been timed better as a kingdom declared war on Kandrakar. Aaron and Lucario trained in what I feared he inherited: Aura. He and the guardians stopped the kingdom and defeated the ruler. However, other worlds saw the overthrow of the kingdom and wanted Aaron's aura for themselves. The guardians faced a difficult dilemma, both involved Aaron." Elyon assumed the ordeal for S.N.A.I.L.

"A Catch-22," she named. Ash turned to the young queen for a clarification.

"Catch-22?" he repeated.

"Basically, a no-win situation. It's like when you wanted to give Pikachu to the tribe: you wanted what was best for those Pikachu but you'd lose your best friend. I bet there were some Pikachu who would've been happy for him to stay." Pikachu looked astounded to the definition.

("You learn something new everyday,") he squeaked.

"Thus leads to what you've learned about Aaron," the Oracle summarized. "Or as you know, Sir Aaron." Taranee had some questions about this.

"I do appreciate 'Story Time' from time to time," she murmured. "But what does this have to do with Ash?" The Oracle nodded, willing to explain.

"If I am correct, it would seem that Aaron has returned in a new form. Sure, a thousand years may have passed and he's long been deceased..." Yan wanted to add to the Oracle's belief.

"Luba has saved one more auramere that was created by Aaron for when he returned," she clarified. "If you're the descendant of Aaron, the auramere will react to you." To Ash, this would uncover a secret within his family.

"Where is this last auramere?" questioned Cornelia.

"It's this way," Luba started before walking off. The rest followed with Cornelia beside Irma.

"I now wish I was Nojiko back that millennium ago. I wouldn't have wanted him to leave." Irma didn't think Ash would be part of a repeat performance.

"I hate to see Ash leave before I have some more time like a date," she wished.

"Good luck on that." They arrived in a hidden room unseen within Kandrakar. On a podium was a bright blue auramere.

"Here it is: Aaron's auramere," Luba presented. "It's been held in secret for many centuries. If what we've heard is true, the auramere will accept Ash. If not…" To Ash, he wanted to end the escapade.

"If the auramere doesn't like me, that's fine," he shrugged. "Just tell me what to do."

"Simple," the Oracle readied. "Approach and offer your hand, but don't touch it." Ash nodded to the single instruction. "However, Pikachu doesn't need to be within range. Call it a precaution." Pikachu heard the Oracle's premonition and dashed to Cornelia who hoisted him on her shoulder. Ash faced the auramere, the moment of truth arriving. He reached the podium and reached out with one hand. It appeared the auramere didn't detect Ash but that changed in a moment. The auramere grew and morphed as Ash's body began to glow. Everyone watched in awe.

"Is it?" gasped Halinor. Ash stood with his outstretched arm as both he and the auramere shone a glowing veil. The auramere floated to Ash from the podium and flew around. That's when a voice came over.

" _It's been a long time, Luba,"_ a young man's voice echoed.

"Aaron?" gawked Luba. "Aaron, is it you?"

" _Yes. I'm sorry for making you wait all this time. I never had a chance to apologize to Nojiko after I left for the Pokémon World."_ The guardians couldn't believe the voice speaking to them. The Oracle never reacted.

"Aaron, I apologize for bringing someone to your auramere, the one you created before sending you to that world for safety." Aaron chuckled to the apology.

" _No, I knew one of these days a descendant would find my auramere. Funny enough that it was the same descendant who helped reunite me with Lucario, my friend beyond the grave."_ Hearing this detail, it confirmed the beliefs of those around.

"So Aaron _is_ Ash's ancestor?" gulped Taranee.

"That's… fascinating," Will awed before stepping up. "Aaron… or rather Sir Aaron, did you fall for Lady Rin before you left for the Tree of Beginning?" The others nearly stumbled forward with the confronted question.

"Will, not appropriate!" scorned Yan. Aaron chuckled once more.

" _It's quite alright,"_ he scoffed. _"I admired Lady Rin with my heart, much like Nojiko when I was on Meridian. To think, a thousand years since my death, my aura is still present. However, I can't stay. Please protect my descendant as much as he needs."_ With that, the glow vanished. The scene returned to normal and Ash relaxed himself.

"So that was Sir Aaron," Hay Lin blinked. Luba came forward and knelt to Ash.

"It's been so long since I heard Aaron's voice," she reminded. "Ash, by coming here and awakening the auramere of Aaron, I can rest more peacefully. Thank you." After a few more exchanges, Will came forward.

"That's incredible that you and Aaron are related," she awed. "Next thing we know is that you and Pikachu could communicate like brothers." Ash itched his head in embarrassment.

"Funny thing about that," he started. "I actually was once turned into a Pikachu." The girls jumped at the information.

"Really?!" gawked Irma.

"I met an upcoming Pokémon Magician who tried to do a spell which would allow people and Pokémon to understand each other like that, but the spell went awry and I became Pikachu, but only for a short time." Humored, Elyon hugged Ash while laughing.

"If you could stay that way, I'd sleep with you everyday!" she cackled.

"I think we all would," Cornelia chortled. After a laugh, Will approached Ash with a request.

"Anyway, I wanted to have a turn taking care of Pikachu," she wished. "My mom's at work and I hope she doesn't come home before I do. So, can I?" To Ash, it was a harmless request.

"I don't see why not," he allowed.

"Thanks." Pikachu crawled up Will's shoulder, willing to go with her. Meanwhile, there was a staircase that led down. One was a troll-like creature much like Blunk but with more white hair around the ears. Joining the passling were two humans in white uniforms with matching red "R" emblems, a crimson redhead woman and an ice-violet man. Along with the two humans was a white cat with a curled tail and gold oval charm stuck on its forehead.

"What do you want from us down here?" asked the redhead.

"Jeek told to find humans to free Meridian Lord from dungeon," the passling grunted. "Find fascinating to see and hear talking cat."

"Hey, I'm not just a cat, Jeekster!" the cat growled.

"Settle, Meowth!" the ice-violet-haired tried to ease. Soon enough, the group found a wall of prison cells with bars made of a blue energy. Hearing commotion, a white-haired man in a black robe emerged from a cell.

"Don't tell me you're throwing us in one of these," the redhead gulped.

"Jeek no throw Jessie into dungeon cell," Jeek tried to clarify. The white-haired man looked down and saw the group.

"You brought these humans down into the dungeon, Jeek?" he spoke. All turned to find the man with Jessie immediately drooling.

"Hello, handsome!" she flirted. Meowth and the ice-violet-haired man gawked to the reaction.

"I see. I am Lord Phobos. I was wrongfully removed by a coup from the throne that I rightfully own." The ice-violet-haired and Meowth wondered about Phobos' claim.

"I wonder what occurred to get him removed," the ice-violet-haired started.

"Beats me, James," Meowth shrugged. "What's your story anyway?"

"If I must," Phobos sighed. "I ruled this kingdom before the guardians turned on me and threw me into here. My little sister, Elyon, now runs and I believe she's ruining this world as we speak." Swayed, Jessie wanted to help Phobos out.

"You must be back on your throne," she proposed. "Perhaps I can be your lady when it's back in your hands." Phobos smiled, hoping his freedom came. "Now, how to free you from there?" That's when she turned to Meowth… and a sinister sneer appeared. "I know!" She grabbed Meowth by the scruff and chucked it at the energy bars. Striking, Meowth suffered a shock. However, it was enough as it stopped the flow of energy. Phobos leaped out and landed on the platform.

"Thank you. This is the first step in returning to my former glory." Meowth shook off the shock and returned to the platform.

"Dat wasn't so bad," he scoffed. "Not as bad as all dose times Pikachu shocked Meowth." Phobos didn't mind the ones helping him.

"What about us?" hissed a man like a snake. Looking up, they saw a hairball with limbs and a green snake with a red mask. Phobos groaned to the two in the same cell.

"Of course, the two who stabbed me in the back when I tried to reason with the council of Kandrakar," he explained. "Cedric and Miranda." To the two, they had a reason.

"Cedric tried to keep you safe before the guardians would attack," the hairball pleaded. Phobos didn't believe Miranda's attempt to reason.

"I nearly was digested in his stomach. It will not go unpunished." Forcing a palm forward, the energy from the bars blasted the two in the cell. They screamed in pain and fear, scaring James and Meowth. Jessie gulped while other prisoners cowered in corners of their holding cubes. The screams forced Jeek to retreat from the dungeon and out the hidden area where Blunk and Charizard saw, staying hidden in either shrubs or a statue.

"Blunk not like screams," Blunk cringed. "Something in dungeon is bad, and Jeek is involved." Charizard flew off, thinking whatever happened in the dungeon wasn't pleasant. After a minute, the screams died down. In the cell, Cedric and Miranda's bodies stopped moving. No breath drew.

"That is punishment fit for treachery." The three that stood gulped. They needed to comply if they wanted to live. Back on Earth after their adventure in Kandrakar, Will and Pikachu arrived in an apartment where a note hung on a piece of tape. Will took the note from the door.

"Will…" she began to read. "Out with Dean again. Wished you'd tell me that you'd be out this late. Leftovers are in the fridge. Won't be back until late. Love, Mom. PS: Your turn for laundry." Will had a deadpan look that Pikachu felt bad for.

("I see what you put up with,") he squeaked. Entering, Will reached the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

"I forgot that we had tacos last night. Maybe I can make some and share with you… or maybe some fresh fruit would be better. Mom must have been at an outdoor market with sweet corn and cucumbers..." Looking inside, they also found grapes, pears, bananas and other fruit. Pikachu took a pear while Will grabbed leftover taco meat and cheese. "I highly doubt you'd enjoy tacos, Pikachu. Hopefully, we're in bed by the time Mom comes home, especially after the time I had Mister Huggles over once."

("That couldn't have been good.") That's when Pikachu saw a picture of Will and a grown purple-haired woman near a pool. Will wore a blue one-piece swimsuit. ("What's this?") Will turned to find Pikachu eyeing the photo.

"That's me and my mom after a Swimming Meet. Came in second place." Pikachu awed her accomplishment of her swimming. He'd enjoy the night with Will, unaware of a danger back in Meridian from Meowth's words.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	8. Note-ing the Crowd

_Chapter 8: Note-ing the Crowd_

* * *

At the Lair household after Irma changed into pajamas, Tom found his daughter heading upstairs. "Irma, can I talk to you for a minute?" he requested. Irma blinked to her father's call.

"What's up, Dad?" she asked.

"It concerns your friend that helped you at the mall the other day… Ash, if I recall. After what he did to Uriah's gang, I'm grateful for his support." To Irma, this seemed genuine from her father.

"Really?" Tom did begin to ponder on something about Ash.

"I wonder who his father is? I bet he taught that kid how to skateboard at an early age. I mean, how else did he use that skateboard against its owner?" Irma knew Ash better, his father not appearing in his past.

"He's… one of a kind, alright. He must deal with bullies like those three often." To Tom, Ash had plenty of delinquents to straighten out.

"He must be. Heck, maybe he can teach Chris some of his techniques." Irma softly shook her head,

"Maybe after I have a date with him..." Tom chuckled to his daughter's wish.

"He's certainly high on my list, much higher than say Martin or… who was that guy your friends teased you about… Andrew Hornby?"

"Who?" Tom simply scoffed to Irma's supposed blank reply.

"Never mind. Good night, dear."

"Night, daddy." As Irma left for her room, back with Will and Pikachu, a grown midnight-haired woman entered the apartment at around 11:30 with a slight stumble.

"Dean knows places to go during Spring Break from the Institute," she slurred. "A drink of water should help me." She reached the sink, poured water from the faucet and swigged a glass. "There we go." She saw the clock and realized the time. "Either Will's with her friends or she retired for the night." She opened the door and saw Will asleep with Pikachu's ears peaking out from the blanket. In her mind, she didn't see anything out of place. "I think Matt picked something up for her, that young gentleman." She closed the door. Pikachu woke up and saw no one there.

("Was that Will's mom?") it quietly squeaked. Whether she felt or heard Pikachu, Will gripped the mouse a little tighter.

"Go back to sleep, Pikachu..." she muttered. Listening, Pikachu ignored the woman and fell back asleep. The next day at Matt's place, Ash woke to the sunrise. Coming to, he spotted a pair of guitars standing up on a wall, one black and one blue. He still remembered a time before today.

"Perhaps I can try some solo acts at the park," he suggested to himself. He remembered a couple of days ago before the mall trip.

* * *

 _(Flashback/Evening of arrival)_

 _Ash and Pikachu saw a blue guitar standing on a wall. They approached with intrigue. "You play guitar?" he asked._

" _Yep, and I also sing for my band," Matt briefed as he picked the guitar from the floor. "I'm paired with a few others and we call ourselves Wreck 55. Our band won the Institute's Battle of the Bands." He strummed the guitar to show how to play it. "A good amount of that came from Will." Learning more of their history, Ash understood the connection._

" _Knowing the relationship between you two, I can see how." Pikachu agreed. Matt saw inspiration in Ash's eyes and recalled something as he reached a closet._

" _I do have my old guitar in here if you wanna try being a guitarist yourself." He brought out a black guitar and handed it to Ash. The trainer scoffed to the guitar's supposed age._

" _If this is old, you've been gentle about it." This stoked Matt to laugh._

" _Like Mister Huggles and Will, I need to be. That's the secret of longevity." Ash watched how Matt gripped the neck of the guitar and had his hand by the strings over a hole. "Strum it a few times… like this." Matt ran a plastic pick over the strings as notes echoed. Ash copied, holding a pick like Matt and strumming it a few times. "Good. Now, try holding the strings on the neck in different parts. You'll hear different notes sounding off." Studying Matt's hands and how he moved from one part of the neck to another to another, Ash strummed at different areas. That's when he sensed notes that sounded interesting and held the strings back and forth for those two notes. Huggles looked on, curious to Ash's sudden musical sense. "Seems you picked up on something." Ash stopped playing as he looked to Matt with a befuddled look._

" _What was that?"_

" _I noticed that you seem to like a couple of notes that you couldn't move on from those." Looking down to his hands' positions and the method of his left's back-and-forth rotation, it didn't seem to click for Ash._

" _Oh! I-I wasn't aware. I was trying to make the music..." Matt scoffed again._

" _No, you don't_ make _music, you_ listen _to music,_ feel _the music. Right now, you're making notes." Ash realized Matt's words and started to understand his meaning._

" _I see…" They continued to practice as Huggles bobbed his head to the music between the two._

* * *

Ash snagged the black guitar and left the household to see Taranee and Hay Lin in a discussion. "I'm still trying to figure out if Ash inherited the aura from Aaron and whether it's from his mom's or dad's side," Hay Lin pondered.

"I'm not sure," Taranee shrugged. "If he got that aura from his dad, it would explain why he didn't want to tell Ash." As the two turned to Matt's walkway, they found Ash coming to them.

"Hay Lin!" he called. "Taranee! The girls came forward to see what Ash strapped to his back.

"Isn't that Matt's stage guitar?" questioned Hay Lin.

"No, that would be his blue one. As a matter of fact, I've been practicing playing the guitar for a while now." This awed the girls to know of Matt's teachings.

"I didn't think Matt would go out of his way to teach guitars. I think Will found Mister Perfect."

"Well, depends on who your ideal Mister Perfect is," Taranee pointed out. "So, where are you headed?"

"The park. Wanted to see how Matt's teachings have helped." Taranee and Hay Lin guided Ash to a park in the middle of Heatherfield.

"I wonder what song you're gonna play?" asked Taranee. "Maybe a song that Matt performs!" Ash thought about it for a second.

"Something..." He leaned up against a tree and took a deep breath. His hand on the guitar, he started to attack the strings. He began finding different notes and connecting them with ease. Hearing the strums from a guitar, people started to gather to see Ash play. Taranee and Hay Lin saw Cornelia and Irma approaching the scene.

"No way Matt taught him the ways of the guitarist," Cornelia gulped.

"Not to mention that music he's playing isn't anything I've heard," Irma pointed out as she palmed her chest. "Yet… this song's… pretty lovely..." Without her awareness, heart-shaped bubbles seeped from her. Unbeknownst, Alchemy came to see the crowd and Will's mother driving around to hear Ash's guitar work. She parked and stepped out to view and listen. Hearing the strums of Matt's guitar within Ash's hands, she looked on amused.

"I think Will's favorite band might have one more guitarist in their group," she smiled. Playing ten minutes straight through a long and endearing melody, Ash stopped with one more strum. He opened his eyes to find a crowd among him. Tension built among the young guitarist/trainer and the crowd of the city. That's when one clapped his hands, then a few and finally the crowd cheered in applause. Ash looked on, bewildered.

'Did I do something?' he wondered. Alchemy reached Ash, amused to his music.

"That was beautiful," she complimented. "I didn't know you could play a guitar!" Ash didn't pick up her praise, but her look seemed familiar.

"You're… Alchemy, right?" Alchemy nodded to his guess. That's when Ash had a confession that baffled the redhead. "I was listening to it, I didn't know I was the one playing." Alchemy heard Ash, but wasn't sure how to answer.

"You mean you were playing that lovely melody and not know you're doing it? Whoa…" That's when she straightened out to bring up another piece. "Anyway, I heard about what you did to help Irma back at the mall, not to mention dealing those three to community service." That wasn't a big deal with Ash.

"I do what I can to protect my friends." Alchemy nodded, believing Ash's word.

"You do look like someone who's willing to help anyone to no end. I can consider you a friend, right?" Ash didn't mind the offer.

"Of course." With Irma in her own world, Alchemy took advantage and kissed Ash on the cheek. Will's mother chuckled to Ash's new admirer.

"That boy's becoming quite the chick magnet," she noted. Taranee turned to see Will's mother, nearly freaking out if she learned the truth.

"Mrs. Vandom?" she gasped.

"Well, I don't know how long I'll have my ex-husband's surname considering how my relationship with Dean's going. I wonder how long it'll be before I'm Mrs. Sue Collins." Sue shook her head and returned to the subject. "Speaking of, I wish I had a son like him considering my girl's relationship with Matt." This made Cornelia remember something.

"Thanks for reminding me, Mrs. Vandom," she spoke up. "My parents wanted to see Ash. Excuse me!" Cornelia snagged Ash, removed the guitar to hand to Hay Lin, and dragged him away from the park. Irma snapped out of her daydreaming trance.

"Is the concert over?" she snapped. At the Hale's apartment, Ash questioned the reason for Cornelia's invite.

"What's the deal?" he asked.

"Mom and Dad wanted to see you about that story you gave to Lillian," she explained. "From my dad's reaction, he wanted to reward you… and I doubt he'd be the only one."

"What makes you say that?" When Cornelia opened the door…

"My boyfriend's back!" shouted Lillian as she tackled Ash to the ground. The thud knocked plenty of wind from Ash.

"Never mind…" Cornelia's father came out to see Ash pinned while Lillian rained kisses on his face.

"Lillian, is that how you treat a guest?!" he scolded. A blond woman wearing glasses and a maroon button-down blouse also came to see the carnage.

"But daddy!" complained Lillian.

"Off, Lillian," the other blond adult ordered. Lillian whined as she got off Ash. The father helped Ash on his feet with a lift.

"I must apologize for my daughter's behavior." the father confessed. "So you're the one who told the story of Sir Aaron?"

"Yeah..." he replied.

"That's why Lillian wouldn't keep quiet about the story," the mother assumed. "Pardon me. I'm Elizabeth Hale. That's my husband, Harold."

"I'm Ash." Harold now had the name of Lillian's reader. Lillian wanted another story from Ash.

"Do you have another story of Sir Aaron?" she requested. Ash gave her request a thought, but found something else.

"Not Sir Aaron but I got a good one involving heroic dragons." To Lillian, she didn't think dragons were heroic.

"I thought dragons were scary, not helping out!"

"Trust me, not all dragons are evil. There are good dragons if you look and read hard enough." Lillian's mind wondered how dragons could be good.

"I'll need to hear about it. Wanna do it over some tea?" Ash nodded, prompting Elizabeth to start brewing tea. To Cornelia, it had to have been another story from the Pokémon world but chose to keep her mouth zipped. Ash began to tell Lillian the new story which even impressed Harold and Elizabeth.

"I say, he's quite the imagination," Harold awed. "No wonder Lillian's taking a liking to him. It does make me question where he learned about these stories." Lillian began to admire the new dragons Ash brought up.

"Now the two watch over the city," Ash wrapped up. "They're protecting the people from any evil, person or menacing creature." Lillian's face read enjoyment.

"That was a great story, Ash," she praised. "You're also right. I guess dragons are sometimes good." Ash bobbed nods to her new knowledge.

"That's good." Harold felt an obligation to reward Ash for his work. He approached the trainer. "Ash, I must thank you for giving my daughter a good time." He dug in his pocket and pulled out some money. This felt a bit much for Ash to take at once.

"Harold, it's my pleasure," he shyly accepted. "But really, the money's not necessary."

"But I insist. Who knows, maybe save for a guitar in the future after your medley." This made Ash think. "Go on. We got plenty in our banks." To Ash, this wasn't a big deal.

"I-I guess so." Ash soon walked out with Cornelia from the complex, money in his pocket. Pikachu ran up to Ash, happy to see him after spending time with Will. She, along with the other guardians, met with the two exiting the place. "You've been good, Pikachu?" The Electric Pokémon squeaked to Ash's wonder.

"Pikachu behaved with me, alright," Will added. "And Matt's impressed with your little concert at the park… one which my mom saw you." Ash nervously giggled to the note.

"With the crowd I gathered, I wouldn't be surprised." Irma began to train her mind on Ash, her eyes narrowing.

" _Go on a date with me…"_ she mentally told Ash. She's using her Mind Control. _"Go on a date with me…"_ Irma hoped she could convince Ash to have a night out together, but his aura started to cocoon its host. _"Go on a date with me…"_

"Perhaps being a guitarist after I become Pokémon Master would be a nice side gig."

"After today's performance," Cornelia laughed. "I can see it." Irma gasped to the sight. She managed to get a crowd off Ash at the mall, but Ash didn't seem to be affected. Seeing her distraught, Taranee wanted to know the ordeal.

"Irma, what's wrong?" she asked.

"I wanted to try having Ash go out on a date with me," she whimpered. "Why didn't my mind control work?" Taranee looked at Ash and recalled their visit to Kandrakar.

"I think his aura prevented your ability." Irma didn't think about Ash's aura, now that she began to know her limits of her mind control. "Why not ask him directly before Lillian or Alchemy do?" Irma blinked to the sudden idea.

"Ask him? Just like that?" The fire user bobbed her head. "Okay…" Irma got to Ash which Pikachu saw coming.

("Irma?") the Pokémon squeaked. Ash turned to Irma in wonder.

"Irma, what's up?" he asked.

"Well, I wanted to have sometime together," she started. "You know, before the five of us go back to school and you return to your world. Perhaps the two of us tomorrow night?" This seemed odd for Ash. The guardians would ask for Pikachu but Irma wanted him instead.

"Sure. Something before we go back to our busy lives." Irma clapped in satisfaction.

"Thanks." She kissed Ash on the cheek. "It's a date! Be here at 6:00!" As Irma darted off with a smile on her face, her last words clicked on Ash.

"A date? Oh no…" Hay Lin and Will heard the gulp from Ash.

"Wait…" realized Will. "You've… never been on a date?" Ash stood frozen.

"No…" He soon shook out of it. "I don't even know what a date is! I've been with Misty and May and met some people like Macey and Calista that like me… but… dates are new!" To the four who have boyfriends, Will, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin were more than willing to help out.

"Looks like Pokémon Boy's gonna need some advice," she teased. "Will, let Matt know Caleb and I will stop by." Will whipped out her cellphone to alert her boyfriend.

"Unfortunately for Hay Lin and myself, we won't have Nigel and Eric join in on this," Taranee scoffed. "But the several of us will help out with it." Ash could only sweat with all the help available, especially for his first date. How will it go? Where will they go? And could the guardians make sure it runs smooth?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED…


	9. Aquatic Dating

_Chapter 9: Aquatic Dating_

* * *

Back on Meridian, Elyon returned to her throne after making her rounds around her castle. She kept thinking back to her first encounter with Ash and to the moment Irma made lip-to-lip contact in front of her. "I feel like I lost Ash to a great friend," she muttered to herself. Raythor overheard the young queen's self-pity. "Then again, if I did before Irma…" Raythor came over to ask for a clarification.

"What is this you're referring to, your highness?" he asked. Elyon glanced to her loyal knight, realizing her voice being a little loud.

"Oh, Raythor… I was thinking about Ash and how I… might be struggling with how to comprehend with liking him." Raythor heard Elyon's tremble.

"Could you explain?"

"Sure. I grew fond of Ash and Pikachu onset… and I wouldn't have minded him as a potential king to me. However, if I were to do such…" Before Raythor could ask more, Blunk riding Charizard flew into the throne room.

"Big problem!" the passling shouted. Elyon and Raythor turned to the pair who oversaw a group enter a dungeon and free Phobos. Raythor didn't want to believe Blunk.

"This better be good, Passling!" he warned.

"No, it bad! Phobos freed!" Raythor and Elyon weren't sure to believe Blunk.

"You sure?" she questioned. "I'm pretty confident the guards have that dungeon protected." Raythor flashed a sword and pointed at Blunk.

"If what you say is true," he growled.

"Is true!" cried Blunk. "Jeek helped new humans and cat with gold coin on forehead! Screams from dungeon!" Charizard growled and nodded, also a witness to what they saw. To Elyon, Blunk's reporting became dreadful.

"I have a bad feeling Blunk's telling the truth if Charizard's backing him up," she claimed. Raythor remained unconvinced.

"I'll believe Phobos being freed by seeing it myself," he issued. Suddenly, an explosion rocked the room. Smoke and debris showered those inside. When the smoke cleared, Phobos, Jessie, James, Meowth and Jeek appeared.

"Hello, dear sister," Phobos sneered. Those first occupying the throne room gawked to the sight.

"Believe Blunk now?" a scared Blunk asked.

"Believe Blunk now," Elyon repeated to answer. Raythor trained his sword now on the intruders, much to Phobos' displeasure.

"Come now, Raythor," he scoffed. "We shouldn't be this violent without reasoning."

"We came to bring Prince Phobos to his rightful place here!" explained Jessie. Charizard stood by Raythor's side, willing to protect the queen. Meowth felt he knew the Flame Pokémon.

"Dat's da twerp's Charizard!" he mewed. "So, it looks we're pretty lucky to be here after all!" Elyon glanced to Charizard growling at the group.

"So, these guys are familiar to you?" she wondered. Charizard nodded to the question. "Get me up to speed. Who are you?" To the trio, their cue had been called.

"Prepare for trouble, your time is at an end," Jessie started.

"Make it double, we'll help take over Meridian!" added James.

"An evil-" Phobos patted Jessie on the shoulder to stop the rambling.

"Allow me," he voiced. Jessie, her face as red as her hair, nodded to Phobos' request.

"Okay…" Phobos faced Elyon while Charizard wanted to protect the queen as much as he could. Elyon sensed a problem.

"Aren't you missing someone?" she pointed out. "Or a pair? You know, Cedric and Miranda?" Phobos scoffed to the names.

"They're no longer burdens to us, let alone the guardians," he explained. "After what they did when I made it to Kandrakar, I gave them… a gift to spend eternity together without anyone interrupting." Elyon didn't need a clarification from Raythor or her brother.

"You killed them, after all they did for you?" Raythor heard plenty.

"You monster!" he yelled as he charged at the escapee. Jessie whipped out a bazooka and pulled the trigger. A missile shot out and opened to reveal a net. It caught, ensnared and anchored Raythor to the wall.

"Raythor!" The soldier could only turn his head to Elyon.

"Go! You must flee for Meridian's sake!" Charizard took the command and growled to Elyon.

"You're not going anywhere!" ordered Jessie. Charizard breathed out a Flamethrower attack as Jessie tried to reload. Phobos and the others covered up to avoid burning.

"Thanks, Charizard!" praised Elyon before she and Blunk jumped on his back before flying away. They cleared out of the castle. "I'm sorry, Raythor. I'll bring back help." Charizard flew far away from the castle in hopes for safety. Meanwhile at Matt's place, it's the next evening after Irma asked Ash out on a date. Dismayed, Ash could only sigh as he wore a blue light jacket over a gray flannel shirt while Huggles and Pikachu watched Hay Lin, Matt and Caleb prepared him for his night with Irma.

"From what Will told me, I'm still in disbelief that you've had a couple of other girls with you and yet you haven't gone out with them," she awed. Ash would concur on an extent.

"They got mad for destroying their bikes, and they don't come cheap," he claimed. "I mean… the closest I ever had toward a date would be Macey, a trainer in the Silver Conference who asked me out after I saved Pikachu and her Vulpix from Team Rocket, but Misty denied the offer." Matt sympathized with Ash about the treatment back in his world while massaging his shoulders.

"Right now, the only thing to worry about is upsetting Irma," Caleb advised. "Take it from me, take it from Matt, take it from Hay Lin… We've all dated, not to each other which would be rather bizarre." Just then, the door opened with Cornelia coming through.

"How's the dating man?" she asked. Everyone turned to the eldest current guardian.

"Hey, darling!" greeted Caleb. "We're just giving Ash some final instructions before going to see Irma." Cornelia nodded before turning back to Ash. "So, remember what I've told you! Anything messed up, you won't get a second chance."

"Unless you're Caleb with Cornelia," Hay Lin joked. Caleb scorned at Hay Lin before turning back to Ash.

"Anyway, I've told you about the chair manners, table manners and proper conversations." Ash nodded to the points from Caleb. "Feeling ready to go?" Ash fluffed one more nod.

"I can do it," he muttered. "Okay..." He stood up, only to glance down at Pikachu and Huggles. "Wish me luck. I may need it." He soon faced the door, knowing his date with destiny, or Irma, drew near. After one step.

"Wait a second, young man!" halted Cornelia. Ash didn't want to be held from his date.

"What's wrong?"

"Your hair. Have you seen it? You can't go out with that mess!"

"Ease off, I travel a lot! Besides, why should anyone be worried about my hair?"

"Easy, kiddo: You need to look good when you go dating." Ash tried to ignore Cornelia's advice and proceed to the door.

"My hair's fine as it is, okay?" He passed Cornelia but that's when a chair flew to Ash and tripped him, his rear now seated on the chair. Flowers grew immensely from Cornelia's waiving arms and wrapped around Ash's arms to pin him.

"As if! Hay Lin, spray bottle full of water and a comb!" Hay Lin nodded before leaving to get the items requested. Returning, Cornelia began to work by spraying water and lathering shampoo in his hair. She sprayed warm water to soak the strawberry-scenting shampoo off. "Matt, you got hair gel?"

"Yeah, but I haven't used it for awhile," he confirmed. Hay Lin ran back to the bathroom and got the hair gel.

"Hold still now!" she commanded. Once the shampoo came off, Hay Lin combed hair gel to Ash, slicking his hair back. "And we're done!" Cornelia waived her hand to dismiss the flowers and return them to their pots.

" _Now,_ it looks good to go!" she nodded. Ash mulled, his hair disturbed. "Butch up! You and Irma can have a good time tonight!" Pikachu and Huggles could only watch while Ash headed out. All he could do was go to see Irma, getting herself ready by wearing a lime green mini-gown blouse with a pile of carnations printed. She also wore color-matching tight leggings that reached her shins and dress slippers. Will and Taranee made sure Irma came prepared for the night ahead.

"I should know how dates go," she murmured to herself. "You went out with that nerd, Martin. It'll be the first time for him… and for someone I've started to love." Will and Taranee sensed Irma being nervous.

"Just breathe, Irma," Will suggested. "We get that you want to have sometime with Ash before we send him back to his home world and our Spring Break ends."

"I know, Will! I just can't help it!"

"Believe me, if we hadn't met our crushes like Nigel or Matt, or Eric if I wanna stretch it," Taranee listed. "I guess I could say Hay Lin would be the most likely to go after him." Irma nodded to the referral from her guardian partners.

"It's like you guys wanted to give me a chance and we'd be a complete set." Looking at her wardrobe for her date, she felt something missing. "I think I need a different color coordination." Irma waived her hands over herself. Her outfit turned from lime green to neon pink. Will and Taranee gawked. Irma looked to see her friends' faces. "What? Too much?"

"Little..." they replied. Acknowledging, Irma waived her hands again, dimming the color of the pink. Just then, Cornelia, Hay Lin and Ash arrived.

"Looks like the gang's here!" teased Hay Lin. "Irma, you look lovely in that pink wardrobe. Besides that, I did arrange reservations at Grandma's restaurant."

"The Silver Dragon, huh?" believed Irma.

"Right, so..." stuttered Will. "We'll leave you to your date. Have fun!" The other guardians left Ash and Irma for their time together. Studying Ash's appearance, she began to snicker about Ash's hair.

"Don't… start!" he sulked.

"Sorry," Irma apologized while still giggling. "I'm guessing Cornelia did that, right?" Ash huffed a sigh.

"She did. Told her to leave my hair alone and she wouldn't listen."

"Eh, typical of her to do so. Let me fix that a bit." She combed her fingers to break the gel within Ash's hair, much to Cornelia's chagrin and displeasure. The guardians watched from across the street, trying to remain incognito.

"What is she doing?!" she snapped. "It took me like 20 minutes to adjust his hair!" Will and Taranee could only shrug to her effort for naught.

"Looks like you did all that work for nothing," Will criticized. Irma removed her hands and Ash could feel his hair about normal again.

"There, perfect," Irma finished. "Can't do anything about the scent, but I'm not complaining the smell of strawberries."

"That _is_ better," Ash smiled. "Though she did say the look was something you'd like." Learning more from the guardian of "fashion" made Irma scoff.

"Please, like she would know what the best look for a guy is? At least the scent's pleasing."

"No argument here." Both let out a nice little chuckle while Cornelia began to sulk at Irma's "wrath" on Ash's hair.

"I can tell that Irma's happy with the natural look," Taranee studied.

"And Ash can relate," Hay Lin added.

"Well, I'm not!" scorned Cornelia.

"Well, shall we?" asked Irma, a hand out for Ash.

"We shall," Ash answered as he grabbed and held Irma's hand softly. Both left for Yan's restaurant. Mira greeted the two.

"Ash and Irma!" she noted. "Hay Lin said you'd be coming. This way." Ash followed Mira with Irma behind him. As they closed in on the table, Caleb's voice came to his head.

" _What you should not blow is offering the chair,"_ he reminded. As they arrived at the table, Ash gently pulled out the chair a little for Irma to sit in. A giggle from Irma followed with her sitting and Ash pushing her in without crushing her.

"Nice..." whispered Mira. Ash sat down to eat with Irma. Quickly, she found a topic.

"So, before you found out about Aaron," she began. "What happened at the palace? Was there a competition?"

"Oh, definitely," Ash responded. "I was part of the tournament where the winner would be deemed 'Hero of the Year,' and we wore medieval clothing, me donning Sir Aaron's outfit. Even May and Max approved of it. Well, I won the tournament..."

"Figured so… Was there a ball afterwards?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't allowed to dance, not even with my friends and other trainers. I was told to sit and watch. Believe me, I'm not someone who wants to sit around doing nothing." Irma gasped at the information given.

"Couldn't dance?"

"No. It was real frustrating." This built up some seethe from the guardian. She reached and grabbed Ash's hands.

"Now you know of my Mind Control. If they met me, we could've danced the night away." That's when they realized the holding of each one's hands. Blushing faces, they broke away with shy smiles. "Sorry..." They shared a laugh.

"I know Matt's watching over Pikachu. Knowing my partner, I bet he's found a bottle of ketchup to lick on." Back at Matt's place, Matt found the door to his refrigerator open.

"How'd that happen?" he asked himself. He decided to check the refrigerator for anything missing. "Let's see… Milk's there… Cheese's there…" Finally checking the door, he noticed a void. "Ketchup's not here! I doubt Caleb or Hay Lin took it." Suddenly, Huggles squeaked to alert his owner. "Mister H?" Huggles led Matt to a corner with Pikachu blissfully licking ketchup from the bottle after squeezing. "A-HA!" Pikachu jumped from fright.

("Oh no!") he squeaked at being busted. Matt palmed his face at this discovery.

"First time I've seen a creature enjoy ketchup. Will owes me a bottle big time."

("Sorry. I couldn't help it.") Forgiving Pikachu, Matt petted the Pokémon, knowing it wasn't done out of spite.

"It's alright. Maybe Ash can give me a new bottle before you two go back." The dormouse squeaked sadly about going away from his new friend. Back at the Silver Dragon, Irma had a mental picture of Pikachu enjoying the ketchup.

"Keep your fridges secured around Pikachu," she joked. Ash laughed to it. "But I'm actually glad to have someone I've started to… I don't think like's enough… and if it all goes well, this would make it a complete set! Will and Matt, Taranee and Nigel, Cornelia and Caleb, Hay Lin and Eric… and us. Though it nearly became Cornelia and Peter."

"Taranee's brother?" he remembered. "What did Caleb do?"

"Something minor, willing to stay on Meridian to protect Elyon. My guess is that she believed Caleb preferred Elyon over her." Ash cringed at how this had be interpreted.

"Sounds like Cornelia's got issues." Mira brought Ash and Irma their orders: Ash got a Sizzling Platter while Irma got a General Tso's Chicken. One bite had Irma convince Ash to try.

"I'm sure you'll like this." Interested with her food, Ash nodded to let Irma feed him. Tasting the chicken, Ash's eyes perked along with a smile.

"That is good!" Smiling, Irma and Ash continued their meal. After they ate, they traveled down the streets where they found a photo booth.

"Here we go! Let's take a few photos!"

"Good idea! It's a nice reminder of my first date." Ash inserted some money before both entered the booth. Irma set timers for each click of pictures.

"Ready?" Ash nodded before ducking into the curtain. Flashes came from the booth, illuminating from behind the fabric. Every shot taken produced photos of the two. The first picture had Ash and Irma smiling together. Another photo had the two making faces: Ash blew up his cheeks while being cross-eyed as Irma pulled an eyelid down while sticking out her tongue. Another photo had Irma hugging Ash, her arms snuggling his neck. One more had Irma kiss Ash on the cheek. They made several photos and had a lot of fun to it. They checked the photos after printing.

"Even Mom's gotta love these."

"Tell me about it." After some more time, some holding hands unconsciously, they called it a night and headed back to Irma's house. "That was a great night. I'm actually glad to spend tonight before we go back to our lives… and with someone I've taken a heart to."

"I'll say. Maybe if we do meet again sometime down the road, we can do this again."

"...With a movie, and maybe some dancing..." Suddenly, Ash felt Irma's hand shaking. Looking, he found Irma starting to shiver. "Man, the temperature dropped suddenly." Ash remembered that he had a jacket on. He undressed the jacket and draped it on Irma. "Your jacket."

"Don't worry. I can take a little cold." Irma blushed to Ash's offer, warmth becoming… and which Tom looked out his window with Will and a grown brunette woman that looked like an older Irma.

"Always looking out for everyone, even me." Tom awed the act Ash performed.

"Bonus..." hummed Will. Ash helped Irma to the door where they spent their last moment together for the night. Reaching the front door, her mind ran wild.

' _I… am… convinced! I want to stay with Ash until the day we die! It doesn't matter that we're from different realms! I want him as my husband!'_ Calming her mind, she turned to Ash for one more moment. "Ash, thanks for the time together. I know I invited you but still, I'm not disappointed. Far from it."

"Make that both of us," Ash added. One more shared laugh billowed.

"You know, there's one more thing to do to seal this date." Ash blinked to the item brought up.

"What would that be?" Irma palmed both cheeks and leaned in, eyes staring to each other, and kissed Ash on the lips. Her leg lifted from the ground as she held her kiss. Ash stood surprised for sometime. Surrendering to her feeling lips, Ash closed his eyes and returned the kiss. Tom opened the door to allow Irma to warm up but she failed to notice as she continued her passion. Finally, they broke, cheeks blushing wildly.

"That… Goodnight, handsome."

"Night, Irma." With that, Irma entered her house as Ash began to head back to Matt's place. Tom removed the jacket before tossing it to Ash who caught it without effort.

"Thanks for taking care of my daughter, Ash!" he called out.

"No problem, officer!" Inside, Irma bellowed a sigh, one of bliss.

"Someone had a good night, tonight!" teased Taranee. Irma looked to find her fellow guardians meeting her.

"Hey!" she greeted.

"So, how was it?" asked Will.

"Better than Martin by a landslide!" A young brunette boy came around to see Irma who now appeared to be in her own world.

"So, sis!" he started with a smirk. "How was your date with your new boyfriend?" Irma appeared in bliss, ignoring the new brunette.

"A blast!" Hay Lin watched on and decided to waive her hand in front of Irma. No reaction.

"Chris, I think we lost her," she gulped.

"Irma, are you okay?" a confused Chris asked. Irma softly fell back to which Cornelia used her power to soften her impact.

"I couldn't be better my wonderful, adorable little brother!" Not knowing her surrounding, she reached for Chris and pulled him into her arms. She proceeded to kiss Chris repeated in the cheek, freaking the little boy out.

"GROSS! Get off!"

"We lost her," nerved Cornelia. Back at Matt's place, Ash got a welcome from Matt and Caleb for the night.

"Welcome back, Ash!" greeted Matt. Pikachu and Huggles came to meet Ash as well.

"How'd your date go?" questioned Caleb.

"Great," Ash laughed. "We had a blast."

"Awesome!" cheered Matt. "By the way, Pikachu got into the refrigerator and ate the ketchup." Ash dipped his head about his Pokémon's behavior while palming his face.

"And I predicted that while eating dinner with Irma!"

("Sorry, Ash,") Pikachu apologized. Ash soon straightened out and focused again. He recalled the date and showed the pictures with Irma from the photo booth. Pikachu awed and laughed at some of the pictures.

"You know, that date made me think about something aside from Pokémon… and that kiss at the end, I, at first, didn't want but… I kissed back." This sudden statement lingered in Ash more. "Is that what love is?" Caleb came forward to give Ash one last advice before the night ended.

"You look exhausted," he studied. "Get some sleep. You may need it to refocus." Ash nodded before heading to the living room to snooze on the couch. Irma also hit the sack and fell asleep while holding a pillow. She began to dream.

* * *

 _(Irma's dream)_

 _People gathered in chairs in front of a white gazebo under a beautiful sunny sky. Ash's mother and Irma's parents watched from opposite sides of the aisle. In the front, an older Ash wearing a white tuxedo waited. Matt, Caleb and Peter stood by his side. Will, Cornelia and Alchemy waited for someone. Coming down the aisle with organ music playing in the background was the bride in a fancy shoulder-less white sparkling gown. Everyone stood to welcome the bride, her face covered in the veil. Reaching Ash, the bride faced a pastor who began to speak, though no words could be heard. All sat down but those by Ash and the bride. Ash nodded to the pastor's words and lifted the veil, Irma underneath. Words spoken but never heard, they lipped the commands from the pastor. He closed the book and everyone stood to see Ash and Irma kiss._

* * *

Her dream had her kissing the pillow, thoughts of Ash on her mind. "I'm your wife..." she muttered. "I love you..." As she slept, Elyon and Charizard appeared on the tallest skyscraper in Heatherfield. They escaped Phobos' clutches and now, need to turn to the guardians for help.

"They'll need their sleep, Charizard," she motioned. "When I tell them about what happened in Meridian, they know what to do." A battle awaited for the guardians. When Elyon tells Ash, would he know what to do?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	10. Guardians' Guardian

_Chapter 10: Guardians' Guardian_

* * *

The morning rose once more. Irma woke to find saliva on her pillow. Her dream of marrying Ash caused her to kiss it. Getting to the kitchen, the phone rang. Her mother answered it. "Lair Residence," she replied. "This is Anna."

"Is Irma awake?" sounded Hay Lin. Anna looked to find Irma chugging on orange juice.

"Irma, I know you had that nice date with Ash. I hope that's all you did." Irma stopped her juice drinking before wiping her mouth with her arm.

"If there was, you're dreaming," she snapped.

"That's what I thought. By the way, sounds like Elyon wants you." Hearing that the young Meridian Queen wanted her, Irma snagged the phone before dashing to another room.

"What's going on, Hay Lin?"

"Trouble in Meridian, big time! Ash needs to know as well. I've called Will and Cornelia, already." Irma figured the trouble needed Ash's attention as well.

"You don't need to tell me twice. I'll call up Ash."

"Okay, tell him and Pikachu to meet up at the Silver Dragon. We're waiting." Irma disconnected to call Matt's place.

"This is Matt," he replied.

"Matt, problem in Meridian. We need you and Ash at the Silver Dragon, pronto!" Ash and the two mice came to the kitchen and heard the trouble.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"We're on our way," Matt announced before hanging the phone. "We're needed at the Silver Dragon. Something's going on in Meridian that Elyon retreated." Pikachu and Huggles wondered the ordeal.

"Let me get ready." After getting dressed, Ash joined Matt out the door where Will joined. Huggles leaped onto the redhead to welcome.

"You got Irma's call?" asked Cornelia.

"We did, alright," Matt confirmed. "It's gotta be serious if we're adding Ash to it." While that group headed to the restaurant, Irma and Cornelia met up with Hay Lin nearby.

"Sorry it took long," Irma confessed. "Had to throw my pillow liner in the wash after I drooled on it. I thought I grew out of it." Cornelia had a guess to the occasion.

"Were you thinking of Ash after the date?" she thought.

"Me in a wedding with his mom in the crow- Oh! I married Ash and we kissed… or I kissed the pillow as a substitute." Cornelia and Hay Lin laughed to the confession. "Hey, you would be thinking the same thing with Caleb and Eric, right?" Hay Lin continued to laugh while Cornelia stopped.

"Hey, leave my privacy out of this discussion." Elyon emerged at the front door and alerted everyone inside. Before long, the others arrived, including Caleb. Elyon allowed the rest in before meeting in the basement where Ash reunited with Charizard. Looking, he spotted Irma batting an eye with a soft giggle. Ash blushed to Irma's look, the date still fresh on their minds. Taranee wanted to know the situation occurring.

"What's the crisis, Elyon?" she questioned. Elyon took a deep breath before coming clean.

"Phobos is once again freed," she reported. Groans loomed from the guardians.

"It's a big enough pain that we incarcerated him… three times already!" complained Will. "Now, we have to do it again?!" Not knowing Phobos, Ash wondered who he was.

"Doesn't sound like Phobos is someone to look up to," he guessed.

"Not even close," Cornelia corrected. "Phobos was the original lord of Meridian who wanted to rule the universe and the worlds within the veil, including Earth and Kandrakar. He's also Elyon's older brother and a powerful sorcerer." This led to more questions.

"How did Phobos escape this time?" wondered Hay Lin.

"From Blunk's take, Jeek escorted two adults and a cat to the dungeon," Elyon explained. Ash and Pikachu gawked to the briefing. Something about the description sensed a problem.

"This cat you mention," he spoke up. "Did it have a coin stuck to its forehead?" Elyon thought to the meeting with those who freed Phobos.

"Yeah, and it… or he spoke like he's raised in Brooklyn." This made Ash and Pikachu cringe.

"What's Team Rocket doing on Meridian?" The guardians now glanced to a pondering Ash with his thumb and index finger cupping his chin.

"Team Rocket?" Irma repeated.

"They're an organization bent on stealing other trainers' Pokémon for their rarity or power. The ones who you say freed your brother have been after me for Pikachu. My Pokémon and I stopped them many times but they never get the message." Now the teens pondered the reasoning behind Team Rocket and Phobos working together.

"You don't suppose Phobos promised them Pikachu when they broke him out of prison," Hay Lin guessed.

"It gets worse," Elyon continued. "When Phobos and Team Rocket confronted us, he said that he killed Cedric and Miranda." Everyone gawked to the update. They could wonder the purpose.

"Why would he eliminate his own minions?" wondered Matt. Will wasn't willing to stick around for more questions.

"Let's ask them when we reach Meridian," she proposed while standing up. "Guardians, unite!" The guardians transformed to their heroic attire. "The Heart!"

"Water!" claimed Irma.

"Fire!" yelled Taranee.

"Earth!" called out Cornelia.

"Air!" finished Hay Lin. Matt transformed to Shagon and Huggles also morphed. He became a fierce hybrid of muscles and dormouse wearing a sleeveless navy blue shirt and shorts. Caleb wanted to help Elyon reclaim the throne.

"Will, we're ready!" he announced. "Let's bring down Phobos once again and for all!" Will used the pendant to open a veil which all opened. On Meridian, Phobos and Team Rocket captured several men, including Julian. Jessie mercilessly kicked Julian to the ground.

"Phobos, you've been defeated before," he grunted. "History… It will repeat itself."

"Can it, pops!" scowled Jessie. "We're making sure the true ruler is back on his throne." Before long, the guardians arrived, as well as the boys.

"You're telling me those two in the white uniforms are Team Rocket?" murmured Irma.

"That would be them," Ash identified. Phobos turned around to find the guardians arriving along with the boys and the queen.

"So much for hiding when you've returned to accept your fate, dear sister," he sneered. Team Rocket saw the arrivals but eyed Ash and Pikachu.

"Looks like the twerp and Pikachu did find this place!" awed James.

"Okay, what's with da twerpettes flying?" asked Meowth. Taranee didn't approve of the name-calling.

"Hey, we're not twerpettes, fur-ball!" she snapped as she held fireballs.

"And why would Team Rocket work with a dictator?" snarled Will.

"Easy, we're here to put dear Phoby on the pedestal where he rightfully belongs," Jessie explained. Her naming of Phobos made the youths rather disturbed.

"Dear Phoby?" repeated Taranee. "She's… kidding, right?"

"We'll dominate Meridian, the Pokémon World… Pretty much the universe as king and queen." The group became more disturbed with her confirmation.

"Wish there were a few outhouses but I don't feel so good with that reply," Hay Lin gulped.

"That might go for a lot of us," Elyon shuttered. To Cornelia, she found an opportunity to dig in Jessie's nerves.

"I highly doubt Prince Phobos would ever have a queen who doesn't have a fashion sense," she scoffed. Jessie turned to Cornelia, seething from the taunt.

"What was that, you ingrate of a twerp?" she scowled. "This is Team Rocket's uniform! Show some dignity to the working class!"

"The work you do is less than civil," Ash retorted. "Stealing Pokémon from trainers like me, destroying property, kidnapping, false imprisonment..." James wanted to mute Ash for those remarks.

"Face it, you old hag," Cornelia continued. "Someone like you would never fit with Phobos." Hearing her new words, Jessie became furious.

"Old… Hag?" she repeated. "That's it! Prepare for trouble, you're on my nerves." James and Meowth reached Jessie and started a skit for themselves.

"Make it double, I'll make defeat on your reserves!" added James.

"An evil as old as the galaxy!"

"Sent here to fulfill our destiny!"

"Meowth, that includes me!" added Meowth.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" resumed Jessie.

"To extend our reach to the stars above!" continued James.

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"And Meowth are the names!" he mewed.

"Whenever there's peace in the universe…" Jessie continued.

"Team Rocket…" James named.

"…Will be here…" Meowth told.

"To make it worse!" the three finished. Will landed and faced Team Rocket.

"Nice motto," she murmured. "But this is why guardians are here! Quintessence!" Lightning shot out from Will but didn't hit any of the trio. This got under Jessie's skin.

"Hey, news flash!" she shouted. "Trainers aren't suppose to get into attack each other!" Cornelia came to teach Jessie the laws of Meridian.

"Not to throw shade to Phobos, but he doesn't take brainless people as followers," she pointed out.

"You forgot that we're _not_ in the Pokémon World, Jessie," Ash advised. "Here, we're free to do what we want." The Rockets returned to their feet as Ash faced off with Pikachu ready for a fight. "I got Team Rocket. You do what you can to stop Phobos and get their prisoners free." Cornelia nodded to the idea.

"So, da twerp wants ta do dis in classic fashion!" growled Meowth.

"But now that we know what to do, let's show that twerp how nasty we can get!" suggested James. "Cacnea, let's go!" Throwing a ball, it opened to uncover a green cactus ball with cacti arms and spikes for legs. It also had a crown while it jumped onto James with a hug around his neck. The needles poked in James, now in pain. "You need to stop this!"

"Seviper, Dustox, I choose you!" summoned Jessie. She threw her balls and released a zigzag black snake with gold plating around the face. The other was a purple moth with green ragged wings. Pikachu snarled to seeing the Pokémon appearing.

"Ready to go, Pikachu?" asked Ash. Pikachu felt ready to head out. "Let's play it even. Charizard, Grovyle, Phanpy, I choose you!" Ash tossed three balls upward and when opened, unveiled the three creatures he called forth.

"Seviper, Poison Tail!"

"Cacnea, Needle Arm!" commanded James. Seviper swung its glowing purple blade as its tail as Cacnea spun an arm like a wheel.

"Corphish, Iron Defense!" ordered Ash. Corphish hardened its stance as Cacnea's arm came by. The arm smashed into Corphish but the crayfish stood tall while the tail missed. "Good! Phanpy, Rollout!" Phanpy leaped up and curled itself to form a wheel before spinning at Seviper. CRASH! The snake got rattled by the shot.

"Dustox, Psybeam!" issued Jessie. Dustox fired a beam of light from its eyes. Ash had to act fast.

"Charizard, Flamethrower!" The Pokémon leaped clear of the Psybeam. Charizard breathed a stream of flames and burned Cacnea and Dustox. Seviper cleared from the strike.

"Did ya forget about Meowth?" he called. "Fury Swipes!" Meowth swiped the air aiming for Pikachu. Phanpy rolled around before facing Meowth, giving Ash the idea.

"Phanpy, Defense Curl!" Phanpy curled again but spun backwards as Meowth arrived. The back spin knocked Meowth back. As Ash dealt with Team Rocket, the guardians fought Phobos. Shagon helped with distracting Phobos but it proved futile. One blast blew Shagon from the sky.

"Matt!" cried Will before flying to aid him. Phobos fired magic missiles at the pair but Will flew Shagon out of the way. The giant Huggles charged at Phobos blasted Huggles away.

"Khor!" yelled Shagon.

"Seriously, Nerissa's power's minuscule compared to what I have now," Phobos taunted. He turned to find Caleb helping his father and others from their imprisonment.

"Caleb, get out of here!" warned Julian.

"Not without you, father!" refused Caleb. Phobos fired rays at the imprisoned but Julian shoved Caleb away, dodging the blast. Jessie saw Pikachu and Phanpy knock Seviper unconscious while Charizard torched Dustox.

"No more Pokémon Trainer!" she snarled while whipping out a bazooka. Cornelia saw the bazooka trained on Pikachu.

"Not on my watch!" she scorned before reaching out with her arm, grabbing air and pulling up. The bazooka flew from Jessie's shoulder and out of the area. Seeing this, Ash turned to Cornelia, both flicking thumbs up. Suddenly, Phobos appeared in midair and in front of Cornelia.

"I thought your battle was with me," he taunted as he stuck a hand out. Ash saw Cornelia in trouble and chose to act. Seeing Dustox struggle to fly in front of Jessie, he banked on a theory.

' _Let's see if Wobbufett is with her still,'_ he guessed. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Pikachu jumped high and right between Dustox and levitating Phobos. He launched Thunderbolt at Dustox when a blue blob with a squinted face standing appeared. It revealed a red glow as Thunderbolt struck it, saving Dustox from damage. The Thunderbolt came back at a falling Pikachu, missing the Pokémon by inches, but Phobos never saw it coming and took the shock in full. Landing and shaking off the electric attack, he turned to Jessie, not too pleased. Jessie gulped at the mean stare.

"Phobos, that wasn't me!" she claimed innocence. Ash faced Phobos who sensed the aura.

' _What's this?'_ he pondered. _'I haven't seen this essence before… yet it's enticing…'_ That's when Irma tried to spray water on Phobos but he vanished.

"Where did he go?!" she gasped. When Cornelia returned to the guardians, many of the Prince appeared.

"Copies?" murmured Hay Lin. "Really?"

"Fly up!" ordered Will. The guardians flew upward but that's when the copies shot lightning and stopped the girls. More copies summoned vines to ensnare the girls. Even more combined blustering winds and streams of water to freeze the guardians. Together, Phobos had little effort making sure the guardians were in place.

"Now, to end the cycle of the guardian and triumph over the veil for good," he sneered. Ash saw the trouble affecting his friends. Looking, he saw the copies but they appeared someone transparent… except for one, and he dashed at him.

"I'll give you something good!" he yelled as he reached the copies. Irma found Ash on the attack.

"Don't!" she tried to warn. Ash found the Phobos and punched him on the chin. This made the copies disappear. Needless to point at the upset Phobos.

"That was uncalled for," he grunted. With Ash focused on Phobos, Team Rocket saw an opportunity.

"Let's get da Pokémon while he's distracted!" mewed Meowth. Jessie and James saw the opportunity with Ash fighting Phobos.

"Now or never!" grinned Jessie. Before they could, Caleb and Aldarn tackled Jessie and James, pinning them to the ground. Huggles/Khor grabbed Meowth by the head.

"Not while we're here!" snapped Caleb. Julian started wrapping James' legs. Khor eyed Meowth's coin and pinched it.

"My charm!" he complained as Khor pulled. The charm didn't budge. Khor seemed puzzled to it. Phobos recovered and fired a few magic blasts but Ash dodged within inches. Ash tried to buy time for the guardians to recover.

"Let's see you dodge this!" the prince shouted as he made multiples of himself before raining beams, all striking Ash and flooring him. He reeled in pain.

"Ash!" the guardians cried. Ash got to his feet while the multiples vanished. The aura illuminated heavily as he staggered.

"I see… The more you're punished, the brighter this energy glows." Ash took a deep breath before Aaron's voice came around.

" _Descendant, now's the time to release it,"_ he advised. _"Allow me!"_ Ash flung his arms and suddenly, a flash. When it dimmed, Ash now donned blue armor from the torso to his feet. Chain mail covered his arms and knees.

"My, that's a nice getup."

"Thanks," Ash smiled. "It's made of aura… my aura. It's about time to show you the real power of an aura possessor." Phobos fired more beams but Ash sped around each shot before planting a punch to Phobos' face. The prince wasn't hurt and scorched Ash with a flame similar to Taranee's. Ash fell back and Phobos now focused on the guardians.

"From that, you have potential. Perhaps, you could be a member of my parliament once I reign control of Meridian from my little sister's grasp. At least she won't need to worry about the guardians protecting her or any planet I plan on seizing." He opened his hands to the guardians. To Ash, he had to stop Phobos from harming his friends.

"Don't hurt them!" To Phobos, it was an empty plea.

"Why should I? What would you do for them?" Ash nodded to what he planned.

"I never asked for this aura, this… power given. It may be better with you and not me." Phobos relented while Pikachu squeaked in refusal. "Pikachu, I wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer and become a Pokémon Master, not an aura guardian. It's luck that I have this." Phobos walked to Ash, intrigued.

"I will admit, this… aura is enticing. Perhaps by taking it and bringing you back to your world will you no longer have to worry about this nuisance. Let me take a sample." Phobos palmed Ash and the veil of aura started to leave Ash and go to Phobos. After a few seconds, the transfer stopped. Phobos felt the aura radiating from within. "It tingles… it throbs..." Jessie broke free from Aldarn before going after Pikachu.

"Now you're coming with me to take back to my boss!" she snapped. Phobos shot another beam which nailed Jessie and launched her several yards. Pikachu blinked to what just happened.

"Jessie!" cried James and Meowth. Jessie started to rise but stopped on her hands and knees looking at Phobos.

"Darling, why?" she whined. "I wanted to rule along with you… as king and queen of the universe!" Phobos sneered as he stared Jessie down.

"You're inferior," he mocked. "You don't have the same energy or essence he has. Besides, I don't need a queen… not that you're queen-material to begin with." Jessie screeched to the rejection. Ash laughed, adding to the mockery.

"They're better off in the dungeon, especially all the destruction they've made," he added. Phobos now showed attention to Ash.

"Indeed. Now, let me relieve you of this curse." Palm on Ash, he began to siphon the aura. Ash felt his energy sapping. Suddenly, a reaction. Phobos felt something inside fighting him. "What's going on?!" He clasped his own hand contorting and convulsing. Ash blinked at what he's seeing.

"His aura!" realized Elyon. "Aaron's aura's trying to control Phobos!" None of the guardians believed it.

"Could you run that again?" blinked Irma. Phobos did his best to suppress the aura and turn to Ash back on his feet but struggled to stand.

"I should end you for that trick!" he snarled. Ash eyed Charizard flying over. "Do you have any last words before you're a statue?" The guardians and the Pokémon gasped.

"Well, one," Ash grunted. He took a deep breath. "OVERHEAT!" Charizard heard the call and flew in with his body glowing red. In one fell swoop, the winged one collected the prince and flew him up before tossing him to the air. When his head turned to the guardians, Ash spotted it and dashed over, hoping to stop the attack.

"Begone!" He fired a massive beam just as Ash arrived and Charizard breathed a white blazing stream of fire. It completely engulfed Phobos while he cried in the brief pain. His entire body became incinerated. The beam he fired struck Ash as he stood in front of Cornelia and Irma with a massive plume of smoke. As the smoke started to lift, everyone wanted to be sure no one got hurt.

"Everyone okay?" wondered Julian. Irma looked up to find Ash, his arms stretched wide and somehow standing from the blast.

"Ash?" she called. Ash didn't move. It soon became clear why: Ash's body turned to stone. "Ash?!" The Pokémon were shocked as were the other guardian and Elyon. Irma saw the new statue of Ash, not believing the fate bestowed. "ASH!" She dove onto the statue, bawling to the loss. Matt reverted but when he reached Will, she hugged him with tears flowing. Caleb came to Cornelia's side when he saw her start to tear up. She dove onto his chest to cry out. Charizard flew back to the guardians but witnessing a death, Taranee's head buried herself in his abdomen. Hay Lin found Phanpy to hug while Elyon took a heartbroken Pikachu in her arms. The villagers saw the outcome.

"He gave his life to protect those he loved," Matt believed.

"Don't leave me, Ash! I never got a chance to tell you my feelings! I loved you! I would've wanted to stay with you! For all my life! Come back! Come back to me! Please!" The tears landed on the statue's shoulder before trickling down. That's when the tears started to glow. The glow began to coat the statue. Irma's tears began to make the statue light up. In a flash, the statue became Ash again. Ash blinked while everyone but Irma gasped in disbelief. He felt Irma hugging him and wrapped her, stopping her cry. Silence…

"You okay, Irma?" he asked. A pause… Irma stood up a little before a sniffle.

"Oh, Ash!" She hugged him again, only grateful to be with Ash alive. "I'll be fine… with one thing." Without a hint of hesitation, she kissed Ash on the lips like on the date. A newly-elated Pikachu squeaked to the kiss. The guardians and villagers cheered wildly to the revival. The Pokémon came to Ash while Ash held her head to kiss back.

"I guess it's official," Taranee teased. "Ash and Irma are an item!" Will used the Heart to transform Irma from her guardian gown but they never stopped kissing until Ash's Pokémon reached, including a relieved Pikachu.

"I may be protected by guardians," Elyon compared. "But Ash is the guardian of guardians." While the celebration continued, Cornelia spotted Jessie escaping. She flew to intercept her.

"And where do you think you're going, Jessie?" she sneered. Jessie looked up to find Cornelia in her face.

"It doesn't matter with you," she snapped back. "Team Rocket may have lost their chance this time but we'll get Pikachu for-"

"Nope! No way." Raising her arm, vines came out of the ground and wrapped Jessie, immobilizing her.

"Let me go!"

"Breaking a dangerous criminal out of the dungeon… You and your boys will have a nice rest of your lives in the same place you broke Phobos out of."

"You should know that no jail or dungeon will keep me locked up! I'll break out of there and-"

"You'll have your face ridiculed by me, and luckily I kept the makeup kit in the castle. Trust me, you'd be better off staying put." Jessie gawked to the torture Cornelia would give her. Aldarn and Julian escorted James and Meowth to the dungeon while other soldiers carried Jessie hogtied. Ash will need rest but the rewards are still to come.

* * *

TO BE CONCLUDED...


	11. BeWITCHed Love

_Chapter 11/Final: BeWITCHed Love_

* * *

The morning rose around Elyon's castle. Pikachu spent the night with the queen after the devastating battle against her elder brother, Prince Phobos. Elyon woke first to find the rising Meridian sun, the snoozing Pikachu snuggled to her chest and in her arms. Feeling movement and well rested, the Electric Mouse Pokémon awoke to find Elyon stirring with some bedhead hair. She smiled down to him. "Good morning, Pikachu," she welcomed.

("Good morning, highness,") he returned. Elyon giggled to the reply. In her eyes, the sight of Pikachu's pre-evolved version, Pichu, appeared. She soon hugged Pikachu but not too tight in risk of a Thunderbolt strike.

"I wish I could have a Pichu to call my own." Pikachu knew Elyon remembered the PokéDex entry during Ash's lesson. It still bothered her about how close they came to losing Ash when Phobos turned him to stone. "Then again, I would've wished to have Ash as my own… if it meant giving up his dream." Pikachu blinked before realizing the meaning.

("You love Ash as well?") Elyon nodded, thoughts she understood the mouse. Meanwhile in another room, Ash and Irma slept with their arms around each other as heart-shape bubbles filled the room. After reviving from being a statue, the two youths cemented themselves to being a couple. Miss Lair first awakened and saw Ash, his chest bare of cloth. Still fresh in love and in some pajamas, Irma wasn't sure if she's conscious. The bubbles popped as her awakening.

' _Is this a dream?'_ she thought. _'Please, don't let it be a dream! I wanna know if I'm awake!'_ She reached for her cheek and pinched it. Quickly, she felt pain… and comfort. _'Ow! Okay, I'm not dreaming! It's real! I'm really sleeping with him!'_ For awhile, she admired the sleeping trainer who came to her life. _'I can't believe we made a complete set: All five of us guardians with boyfriends! I guess it's okay for him to face the day. Can't have him sleeping to the evening.'_ She caressed his cheek, his smiling and sleeping face to react. "Oh, Ash, time to wake up." Ash continued to sleep, his innocent snore asking to be teased more. "Come on, sweetie… Open those eyes I love." Ash briefly opened his eyes to command but for a brief moment before closing them back up. To Irma, Ash became the teaser. "Oh…? You wanna play this game, do ya? Alright, you asked for it!" Irma initiated a kissing barrage all over Ash's face: his eyelids, his nose, his forehead, his chin, his cheeks, his zigzag marks. "Come on, Ashy-dear… I'm not stopping until I see your sweet chocolate eyes." She resumed her barrage until she connected lips. She held them for several seconds and Ash finally opened his eyes.

"Been wondering when you'd get me there," he teased with a smile. To Irma, he wanted his lips to be her key.

"Enjoying every moment of that show, honey?" Ash snagged the back of her head with a grin.

"Does this answer your question?" Ash returned her kisses with a kiss of his own. Both snuggled back down with their lips joined. In the throne room, the other guardians, Matt, Caleb and Blunk glanced to Jeek tied up in vines. It was this passling who brought Team Rocket to Phobos to free him.

"You know, we could throw you in the dungeon with Team Rocket after what you did," threatened Hay Lin.

"Jeek not afraid of dungeon!" the passling scoffed. "Jeek find ways out of there!" Will wanted Jeek to pay for his crime, believing his take.

"I don't think Jeek would bluff about that," Will minded. As she tried to find a fitting punishment, Cornelia snapped her fingers.

"I got it!" she thought up. She huddled with Will to whisper an idea. Her plan made Will grin.

"Oh… that will work…" Grabbing the Heart of Kandrakar, Will focused her wish to the pendant before preparing to tear a portal open. "On three…" She ripped the air, opening a rift to show an ocean. Jeek freaked out.

"Not there!" he protested. "Jeek don't wanna go!" Bubbles floated among the watery surface.

"Ooh, that's a nice touch," Taranee awed. Blunk nodded, a fitting consequence for the passling.

"Blunk hate to be in Jeek's clothes where he's going," Blunk mocked.

"You can't!" cried Jeek. "Jeek no go!" Will heard enough of the convicted.

"Three!" she yelled. Cornelia ordered the vines to throw Jeek through the rift. Once entered, the veil closed. Jeek hit the water and began to flail helplessly.

"Jeek hate soapy water!" He repeated as he struggled to swim. Will and Blunk breathed a sigh of relief.

"Jeek gone, Phobos dead and Rockets grounded," he listed.

"One bearing makeup that Cornelia made sure couldn't come off," Caleb added. "Seeing that, Jessie may not want to leave." The guardians laughed to the thought as Jessie struggled to escape. Her hair all white and wearing green skin that made her look like an old hag meeting a passling, she scratched herself to remove the wear.

"Take it off!" she yelled repeatedly. She rushed the bars before getting zapped. The energy bars threw Jessie to the wall which didn't give way. Down, she wailed to the imprisonment. James and Meowth occupied a different cell from Jessie.

"Ever once in your wildest dreams would you dink being locked up for life with her be scary?" asked Meowth.

"Not as bad as right now!" gulped James. "At least the twerpette queen's generous to give us a place where we don't have to worry about Jessie's wrath."

"Wished she was more generous with ear plugs." More of Jessie's yells forced the other two to cover their ears.

"Or at least a soundproof cell!" Back at the castle, Elyon met up with her guardians and returned Pikachu to Ash.

"Apparently, Meridian has some quick and talented artists," she mentioned. "They made these from the events of when Ash arrived here to yesterday's battle. Take a look!" They glanced to three paintings of detail. One portrait of Ash with the Pokémon he had on hand and ordering with a point and appearing to shout. Pikachu was on his head, Charizard and Swellow flew above and Corphish, Grovyle and Phanpy dashed passed him. The second also had Ash and his Pokémon but with the guardians and Elyon. Ash and Irma rode on Charizard with Taranee, Hay Lin appeared to be racing against Swellow, Grovyle crouched on Cornelia, Will carried Pikachu and Elyon carried Phanpy in her arms. The last one had Ash in the armor of aura protecting Elyon and Irma against Phobos. Ash seemed in awe about the portraits, somewhat embarrassed with all that occurred around him and his Pokémon.

"You seem to have made your name known across Meridian," Will acknowledged. "Of course, we should be saying thanks for saving our behinds against Phobos."

"If not for you, we wouldn't be standing with you at this moment," Taranee pointed out. Ash didn't mind the compliments.

"It's not a big deal," he scoffed. "It's like with Sondra: I put my friends before myself. Besides, if you guys were in trouble, I'd be there in a heartbeat." The guardians felt touched by Ash's selfless nature.

"We are _so_ lucky to have you as a great friend, Ash!" cheered Hay Lin.

"So much so, we want to thank you in a… special way," Cornelia winked. This made Ash a little uneasy.

"How so?" he asked.

"You see, Cornelia and I talked to Caleb and Matt about it," Will started. "They understood what we had in mind."

"We also briefed Irma and she agreed to our idea… on one condition," Taranee added. Ash became curious.

"What's this condition?" he questioned.

"We don't get you in Irma's favorite spot on your face," Cornelia replied.

"Wait, on my face? What do you-" Remembering when he woke up, Ash realized the guardians wanted to kiss him. "Uh oh!"

"Charge!" the guardians yelled before tackling and kissing Ash all over his face and missing his lips. Pikachu laughed to the kissing torture by the guardians.

("Take it like a man, Ash!") he squeaked. Cornelia broke away and turned to the Pokémon.

"Don't think you're getting out of this," she warned. Vines wrapped around Pikachu from her summon. "After Ash, it's your turn, cutie!"

("Uh oh!") The guardians broke from Ash and left his face painted in lipstick marks. They attacked Pikachu but unlike Ash, Pikachu's lips were free. Both Ash and Pikachu came out with a lot of lipstick on their faces, Pikachu got some on his ears and the crown.

"Girls…" Ash gulped. "They can be vicious." Pikachu whined. After cleaning themselves, everyone attended the throne room, including the people of Meridian. Caleb, Matt, Julian, Yan and Aldarn stood on one side while the guardians stood on the other. Elyon came forward with a set of medals. Ash and his Pokémon faced what seemed to be the world.

"Ash Ketchum," Elyon started. "Pikachu, Charizard, Grovyle, Corphish, Swellow and Phanpy. Your role in stopping the threats on Earth and Meridian have saved countless lives, including the guardians. Your selfless actions in ending Prince Phobos' terror has brought new peace among the universe. I bequeath to each one, a medal of Meridian." There were different size ribbons for each medal, circular and gold with different swirls as decoration. Charizard craned his head to allow Elyon to fit the medal over his horns. The queen had little trouble with the other Pokémon. Finally, she reached their trainer. "Ash, you have earned a new title for protecting the universe's saviors. You will be known as Meridian's Knight: The Guardian of the Guardians." With the medal dressed, everyone applauded and cheered for Ash. However, his mind still focused on Phobos' death. Pikachu saw his friend's mulled face.

("This is a celebration, Ash!") he squeaked. Elyon saw the face, as did Irma.

"Ash? What's the matter?" Ash couldn't let his silence stay.

"It's just…" he started but stopped to sigh. "I'm sorry." Elyon blinked to the sudden apology.

"Sorry? For what?"

"Phobos… He's dead because of me." Elyon gasped a little to the reasoning. "I-I know he's the one who caused suffering to Meridian but… he's your older brother." To Elyon, Ash gave pity to her at the loss of her only known family. She would've wanted Phobos to stay in the dungeon with Team Rocket but at least to her, it's one more cell for when another criminal decides to cause havoc to her kingdom.

"Ash… don't worry about it. I disavowed Phobos as my brother long before you arrived." While rather uplifting, it still bothered Ash.

"I guess… I mean, still… you don't have any family left. I know it'll be blood on my hands for the rest of my life." Elyon realized Ash wasn't someone who wanted to end lives like Phobos. Irma huddled up after hearing his confession and whispered something in Elyon's ear. The young queen nodded and stepped to Ash to offer comfort.

"Hey, Ash!" The trainer looked up after hearing his name, only to get lip service from the teenage queen. This shocked him while the crowd awed and cheered the smooch. Stepping back, Elyon licked her lip to a taste. "You were right, Irma: his lips _do_ taste like heaven!" The guardians snickered, as did the Pokémon. Ash gawked to the queen's little love.

"Wh-What was that for?! You know Irma and I-" Elyon's giggle made Ash befuddled.

"I know, I know… She gave me permission this time. Besides, I had a few reasons like cheering you up and saving my life. Like I said, Phobos wasn't part of my life. You could say that Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, Hay Lin, Caleb, Matt, the Browns… They're family and you and your Pokémon are now a part of it. I guess that's a wish I wanted." Ash now smiled to her explanation.

"Thanks, your highness. I mean it." He looked back at his Pokémon, now honorary members of the queen's lineage.

"There's one other reason that even Irma understands." Ash turned back to Elyon to hear what else she had to say. "You see… I love you. In all honesty, I'd be the happiest girl if you'd be my boyfriend… but it just wouldn't work out. You know I'm queen here. If we were the item, you be Meridian's king in a flash. You'd be forced to stay here in Meridian for the rest of your life and away from the Pokémon World, from your friends, from your mom and any other family there… from your dream… Not being able to fulfill your dream because you'd be my boyfriend, fiance and king here. I just wouldn't do that to my friend." To learn of someone else having a heart for him, Ash awed Elyon's confession. Learning about the outcome, even Ash realized the circumstances as great.

"Thank you. I'm getting a lot more love than I do back home." Night soon fell but to the guardians, they felt as if Ash and the Pokémon spent enough time away from their home world. Will looked to be receiving advice about the Heart of Kandrakar from Julian.

"Got it," she agreed before stepping to Pikachu. "Now that I know what to do with the Heart of Kandrakar, time to go to work. Hold still and think about home, okay?" Pikachu nodded before Will placed the pendant on his forehead. While Will's busy with Pikachu, the other guardians and the guys had their chance to with Ash.

"Looks like this is it," Matt huffed before giving Ash a handshake. "I had a blast with you and Pikachu." Huggles leaped from Matt to Ash to nuzzle. The Pokémon trainer felt the nuzzling, knowing Huggles would miss him.

"I know how you feel," he believed. "I'll miss you too, Mister Huggles." Taranee and Hay Lin came forward, wanting to give Ash some of their love before going home.

"So, Will, Cornelia and Irma will make sure you and your Pokémon are back home safely," Taranee reminded. "We're all gonna miss you. I'd wager Nigel and Eric would be too, even though you've only known them from the mall."

"Yeah, and I know I'll miss you guys as well." Taranee gave Ash a hug for her farewell.

"Don't forget me!" called Hay Lin before she hugged Ash as well. Raythor emerged to meet Ash once more.

"Finally found you," he huffed. "I didn't want to let you go home without a word from me." Raythor took a deep breath before facing the trainer. "Ash, after what you've done in the face of danger, I would've wanted to keep and train you in knighthood to aid in protecting the queen. Certainly, you would be an exceptional warrior and rightful companion as one of the royal guard. Alas, it wasn't meant to be."

"Hey, I would protect you as well," Ash recalled his words. "After all, you're a strong knight but I would help out any way possible." A smiling Raythor dug in his pocket and pulled out a steel medallion with "HONORED KNIGHT."

"This is for you..." Handed, Ash studied the medallion.

"Thanks, Raythor." Julian now came forward.

"Ash, it was nice meeting you and your Pokémon," he said while engaged in a handshake.

"You too, Julian."

"By the way, I saw that picture of your mother. I must say, she's quite the damsel. I wish I met her before I did Nerissa." Ash took a moment to realize what Julian meant. Will came over with Pikachu, ready for the task.

"I'm set," she announced. "Ready to head home?" Ash nodded with Irma by his side. Cornelia also joined Will, petting the Pokémon on the head.

"Let's just say I wanna see this world this little guy's from,"she explained. She brought out a pocket-size camera to show and record the show. "Well, Will… Do your stuff!" Will nodded before shredding the air to reveal a rift. To Ash, this was his way home.

"Let's do it," he nodded. He and the guardians joining stepped through the portal and out to a clear wooded area. Looking at first, Ash wondered if this was the Pokémon World. "Are we really back?" Pikachu looked around for a sign. Suddenly, he spotted brown owls with giant red eyes and standing on one talon.

("I see Hoothoot!") he squeaked. Ash and the guardians spotted the Hoothoot, the trainer confirming his homecoming.

"So we're in the Pokémon World after about a week away. Seeing Hoothoot is a good sign."

"Wait, that one-legged owl?" questioned Irma. Ash brought his Dex out to scan the Pokémon.

"Hoothoot, the Owl Pokémon," it computed. "Hoothoot stands on one leg while resting but both feet are present while in flight. It interchanges feet in the blink of an eye." Irma and Will seemed interested in Hoothoot's behavior.

"That's a fascinating find," Will awed.

"So this is where the Pokémon live in?" guessed Cornelia. That's when she saw three tiny green human-like creatures with flowers on their heads and grass skirts danced. Watching the three, Cornelia cooed to their interpretation. "Adorable!" she squealed. Ash smiled to Cornelia's chirp.

"You're enjoying Bellossom's dance," he pointed out. When the Bellossom finished, two of them approached Cornelia.

"Was that a dance to welcome us?" One Bellossom nodded to her query. "Thank you. Kinda wish I could take one of you home." The other two Bellossom laughed. Suddenly, a loud caw echoed in the air. Ash and the guardians peered up while the Pokémon retreated to hiding.

"What was that?!" gawked Irma. That's when a giant blue avian bird fluttered down to meet the humans. The avian had a hard trident-like crest on its head. To Ash, it was Charizard's opponent.

"Articuno!" he named.

"That's one big bird," Will gulped. Articuno looked down and cawed to Ash.

"Hey, Articuno. I'm sorry I disappeared before we had our Frontier Battle." Articuno darted its red eyes to the guardians.

"Think Arty will believe us if we tell it?" asked Irma. Before Will could reply…

"Ash!" a pair of voices rang out. Everyone turned to see a young brunette girl in a tight red biker shirt and black shorts while donning a red bandanna and a raven-haired boy in glasses, wearing a green polo shirt and brown shorts. Ash recognized the two.

"May!" he named the brunette. "Max!" Reaching, the two gasped for breath.

"Ash, what happened to you?!" cried May. "You said you went on a little training with Charizard and didn't come back!" Ash remembered the ordeal when he and Charizard began training to battle Articuno.

"Yeah, and then we got sucked into another world. At least Team Rocket won't come after us again." Will nodded, remembering the makeup work by Cornelia.

"Even if she does, no one will think of her as human," she pointed out. Hearing Will, May and Max saw the guardians for the first time.

"Wait, who are you three?" asked Max.

"We're guardians," Cornelia replied. "Ash fell into our world and we kept an eye on him while we tried to return him and Pikachu back." Kneeling, Cornelia took an inkling to Max and snapped a picture. "But I think I may keep this for someone I know." Max blinked, unsure about who Cornelia had in mind. Cornelia giggled before giving Max a kiss to the tip of his nose, making his cheeks burn red. Articuno cawed to the kids. They turned to Articuno who started pecking inside its wing.

"Arty, what is it?" asked Irma. Articuno plucked out a tuff of feathers. This surprised the guardians, Ash and May.

"I see," Max figured. "Articuno wanted to give you guys something for making sure Ash came back safe." Articuno lowered to give the feathers to Will.

"Thanks, Articuno," she accepted. Feeling the feathers, she shivered. "Man, they're c-cold!" Irma and Cornelia also touched the feathers.

"Whoa, these would work for sleep," Cornelia pictured. Irma nodded to the idea. Will decided it's time to return.

"I wish we could stay but we do need to return, Ash. May, Max, make sure he's safe… for Irma's sake." May and Max wondered about Will's word as Irma came to Ash.

"I know you've got a quest on hand and even Queen Elyon wants you to succeed," Irma brought up. "But I hope the one thing that doesn't ruin is our relationship."

"You're the first to take my lips, and I don't want that to change," Ash reminded.

"And to make sure..." Both engaged in one last kiss. May and Max gawked to Ash sharing love with a guardian.

"Uh, isn't this the time you remove Ash from her?" urged May.

"Sis, I do that to Brock when he makes himself a fool," Max compared. "Ash showed proper form when it comes to love, and it's… genuine. I actually like this sight." After a minute of smooching, Irma felt ready to give Ash to the siblings. Pikachu got a last stroke from Cornelia.

"Maybe a Bellossom, maybe one of you," she hoped. "But be good and I may give you something else." Pikachu couldn't wait. However, Will led Irma and Cornelia back through the rift. It closed, sealing Ash to stay with the siblings.

"You know, I should be jealous of you, Ash Ketchum," May huffed. "But… I can't. Something between you and that guardian tells me there's chemistry with you two. By the way, you look much more tone than when we first came here." Ash shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to hide how he earned his new physique.

"Well, Cornelia's boyfriend trained me," he started with Pikachu hopping on his shoulder.

"Really? I like it!" That's when he dug into his pocket and pulled out the photos from his date.

"As for Irma, the one who kissed me… you could say I belong in her Lair." May and Max came over to see the photos as well.

"Boy, if Brock sees that, he may want to get advice from you," Max joked. The photo of Irma kissing Ash seemed to stay with him for a long time.

* * *

 _(Months Later; coast of Pallet Town)_

The photo of Irma kissing Ash still laid within his palm. Joining him was a brunette young man, about the same age as Ash. "So, that's your girl, Ashy-boy?" he questioned.

"That is, Gary," Ash replied.

"Nice… I'll say this, a lot better than that redhead with the Togepi." Ash shrugged his shoulders while Pikachu rode on his head. "Anyway, I got a call about researching Pokémon in the Sinnoh Region. Since there's reports of new Pokémon, and you still have that drive after completing the Battle Frontier, I assume this will be where you'd wanna go next." Hearing about new Pokémon stoked Ash.

"The Sinnoh Region, huh?" Pikachu awed the chance of finding and meeting unknown Pokémon. "Seems like we have new adventures to journey upon." Pikachu agreed with a cheer. They soon reached a town and entered without hesitation. They came across a white house with a front porch. Ash and Pikachu came to the door and opened it. "Mom?! Mimey?!" No response. "Mom?! Anyone?! Tracey?!"Nothing. That's when a surprise came to them.

"There you are!" a familiar voice greeted. Ash, Gary and Pikachu turned to find Nigel and Eric by the fence. This stunned Ash.

"Nigel? Eric? What's going on? I thought you guys were in Heatherfield!" Nigel and Eric's faces read embarrassment.

"You see, we… kinda stumbled onto our girlfriends' little secret," Nigel admitted.

"We met on coincidence since we wanted to spend time with our girlfriends when we saw the five together," Eric exclaimed. "Will opened some sort of portal that brought them to this world and we got suspicious." Ash suddenly realized they found this world after following the guardians. "After crossing over, Taranee found us and we thought our geese were cooked."

"That's when she and Hay Lin made us promise not to tell anyone about this place or their secrets." Gary seemed unfamiliar to the two from Earth.

"Ash, mind clearing the air about it?" he asked. Ash didn't have a choice as Pikachu also wanted to know about the two.

"Gary, Pikachu, that's Nigel Ashcroft and Eric Lyndon," he introduced. "The three of us are boyfriends to a few of the guardians." Nigel snickered to the news.

"So, it _is_ official," he joked. "You and Irma are boyfriend and girlfriend!"

"Yep. Now that I think about it, if the girls together are W.I.T.C.H., could that make us… M.A.N.C.E.?" Eric and Nigel laughed to the idea of their combined name.

"Let me see if I can make sense of what you're saying," Eric studied. "There's the three of us, Matt and Caleb… Hm, Matt, Ash, Nigel, Cale- Ah! Dang it, Ash! Stop making sense!" Just then, something tugged on Eric's pant leg. It's a mauve round creature with yellow-tipped flaps on its ears and feet. Its eyes were in shapes of plus signs. Eric picked the creature up. "Sorry, Whizzy. I didn't mean to scare you." Ash and Gary gawked to Eric's creature.

"A Whismur…" identified Gary.

"Eric's not the only one with a Pokémon," Nigel voiced as a floating purple spiky ball creature with hands not attached to the body.

"A Haunter?" guessed Ash. Nigel also glanced to Ash's friend near him.

"Hey, aren't you the professor's grandson?"

"That's me, alright," Gary confirmed. "Gary Oak. Is there something going on in the lab?"

"Actually, that's why we came," Eric acknowledged. "...To get Ash." The trainer wondered about the action at the lab.

"Let's go check it out," he wanted before heading out to find the issue. At a white complex with a windmill adjacent on a hill, Ash climbed up with the others behind as a unicorn with a fiery mane watched on. When he opened the door to a dark room, he entered to find the lights flicked on.

"Surprise!" a crowd cheered. A lot of people, including the guardians, Elyon and some of the castle's occupants came to welcome Ash.

"We heard that you completed the Battle Frontier from the professor," Hay Lin greeted. "Congratulations, Ash!" She hugged Ash for the successful quest. Several of the partiers gave Ash the praise for him and his Pokémon's accomplishments. It also came to know that each guardian had a Pokémon. Will had a steel sphere with an eye and two magnets on each side, as well as two screws below said eye. Irma had a heart-shaped fish. Taranee found herself a Torkoal, Cornelia with a Bellossom and Hay Lin had a black butterfly with a long stringy nose. Matt had an orange dog.

"Looks like you got Pokémon for yourselves, huh?" noticed Ash.

"Yeah, and we wish we could bring them home," Will chuckled. "But we're keeping them in Meridian… at least most of us." Elyon, holding a Pichu, would agree.

"At least I get to bring my baby prince home," she called her Pichu who squeaked back. Elyon cooed at the cute squeaks. Ash petted the Pichu.

"Is it a newborn?" he asked.

"Yeah, and the professor let me keep him." Ash smiled, seeing the young queen's happiness.

"Will and Matt brought Magnemite and Growlithe home," Cornelia mentioned. "We don't want our family to know we became owners of Pokémon." Seeing the eldest guardian, Ash wondered about her family.

"I see," he nervously laughed. "Anyway, how's Lillian doing?"

"Oh, she's fine and energetic like always. Funny thing, I showed her the photo of your little friend, Max, Lillian's acted like she's been pierced by Cupid's Arrow." Ash nearly fell over laughing.

"Whoa, really?!"

"Yep, she's totally head-over-heels in love with him. Maybe I can take him to my apartment, have them meet." Ash found a slight problem with this.

"If you want him, he's already headed back home to Petalburg City in the Hoenn Region." A nod from Cornelia told Ash she understood. "I guess that means Lillian doesn't see me as her 'boyfriend' anymore?"

"Sadly, but that doesn't mean you're out of the thickets. She still considers you her favorite bedtime storyteller."

"Nothing wrong with that." A raven-haired teen in a turquoise shirt overheard Ash's and Cornelia's conversation.

"You do storytelling?" he asked. Ash itched his cheek, a little embarrassed.

"I dabbled with what I've been through, Tracey." Will had more about their trips.

"Hey, Ash," she spoke up. "Your mom, Delia… She's _so_ nice! She makes awesome tea when we stop by, even with Julian." Cornelia wanted to back her up.

"And her Deep-Dish Chili Dog Pizza is _so_ mouth-watering," she added. Taranee couldn't hold her piece about Ash's mother.

"Our school's cafeteria could use new dishes like that for home. She's got to have the recipe for that." Ash nodded, agreeing to the guardians' need.

"She does," he replied. "I'm sure she can give you her tips." That's when he realized his mother wasn't in sight. "Speaking of which… where did she go?" The guardians looked around. Caleb added to the drama.

"Anyone seen my father?" he questioned. This became serious.

"Weird," Irma gulped. "Weren't they inside?" Yan came out of the kitchen as well.

"I swear those two were in the kitchen a moment ago." Unaware to anyone, Matt happened to find a pair outside. It was Julian and Delia engaged in a conversation.

"Guys?" he spoke up. Everyone turned to Will's boyfriend. "I see them… and you're not gonna believe what I'm watching." Everyone came to the window with skepticism.

"Seriously, Matt," Will murmured. "What's _not_ to believe?" They saw the parents talking to each other.

"What's my father doing with Delia?" shuttered Caleb.

"What's my mom doing with Julian?" shuttered Ash. Julian seemed to pour something from within to the mother Ketchum.

"Delia, you've treated me and my son with care that not even Nerissa displayed before her power trip over the Heart of Meridian," he expressed. Delia didn't seem upset with this.

"Well, you and Caleb helped Ash with his training and control," she returned. "Sometimes, I believe our sons are brothers in a sense." To Julian, it could be possible.

"Perhaps, we can make it happen." Delia blinked, wondering the purpose. "Delia, it would be a fantasy possible for our lonely families to become one. With this, our sons will be brothers and we can start love over again… together." Delia snapped her open hands to her mouth in a gasp. Listening from inside, Cornelia figured the conversation… and she gulped in surprise.

"Whoa, hold on!" she gasped. "Is Caleb's dad _actually_ asking Ash's mom to marry him?" Everyone else jumped in shock, Pikachu flying off Ash for Cornelia to catch.

"You're kidding!" they snapped back at Cornelia. Delia thought about the proposal.

"Can I do something first?" she requested.

"Of course," Julian allowed. Delia stepped away from Caleb's father and removed a ring on her finger. A nod came before she hurled the ring to the forest.

"He's dead to me." She returned to Julian after her heaving of the ring. "I want to start fresh, Julian. That ring anchored me for a long time… Now I am free to say yes. You and me, Ash and Caleb… let us become a new family." With the answer, Julian and Delia kissed. The guardians awed the successful proposal. Ash and Caleb gawked to the sight. Tracey and a gray-haired man in a lab coat couldn't help but admire the sight.

"Well, seems these two needed a fresh start on love," he said.

"I gotta sketch this!" awed Tracey as he began to draw on a sketch pad. To Ash and Caleb, their families uniting was more shocking than Pikachu's Thunderbolt.

"Our parents want each other?" they gawked before turning to each other. "And we're gonna be brothers?" Before reality sank among the two, Cornelia dove onto the two in a spreading hug.

"I'm so proud of you!" she praised. "You'll be a Ketchum soon… and then if it all works out, so will I!" Ash and Caleb could do nothing but take it like the young men they were.

"That is wonderful to hear!" screamed Elyon.

"Two families from different worlds becoming one!" chimed Will before they teamed up and kissed Ash on each cheek.

"Wow, this is all so fast," Ash chuckled. "I'm not sure what to say!" Irma had one solution in mind.

"Come here you, dear!" grinned Irma as she wrapped Ash and kissed his lips. Gary laughed to the sight.

"So, Ash has a girlfriend, and now a new father and brother?" he listed. "Something's definitely going right with him." New romance blossomed. Two parents who's spouses abandoned them and their children are becoming one family and Ash had a hard time knowing W.I.T.C.H. was better: getting a new dad or getting a girlfriend. To Irma, Ash was her true… Guardian of the Guardians.

* * *

THE END

(I may be done with the story but I'm not done with W.I.T.C.H., not yet anyway. Stay tuned for that while after I finish RWBY, two more stories will start. Remember the invites? The vacation story starts. Then I start another of my choosing and discussions with.)


End file.
